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Man killed by police after using backhoe to flip police cruiser, smash cars
Video shows the driver using the backhoe's shovel to flip a squad car onto its side
By Richard Cowen
nj.com
VINELAND, N.J. — The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office is investigating the fatal shooting of a man by Vineland police early Saturday, officials said.
The man, whose identity is being withheld by authorities, was shot in the Penn Lincoln Mobile Home Park around 5:30 a.m., according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office. The office provided few other details, except to say said the matter was under investigation.
“During an encounter in the Penn Lincoln Mobile Home Park at approximately 5:30 a.m., one police officer of the Vineland Police Department fired his service weapon, fatally wounding the man,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a press release. “First aid was rendered by officers and emergency medical personnel. The man was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 5:48 a.m.”
Three Vineland police officers suffered minor injuries and were “treated and released,” the press release said.
The Attorney General’s Office was silent on whether the shooting was part of a seemingly bizarre incident that occurred in Vineland just before dawn also on Saturday. Raw video posted on Twitter by the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association showed a Vineland police cruiser, its emergency lights flashing, at a darkened scene where a bulldozer is seen flipping a vehicle onto its side.
“The Vineland officers are ok. The danger they faced this morning is captured in this video from @FOX29philly,” the PBA said on Twitter.
2/2 Man was operating bulldozer/backhoe and flipped & rammed Vineland Police vehicles & ambulance at scene before Vineland Police officer shot & killed man this morning. Video provided to FOX29 News by neighbor Aida Morales @FOX29philly pic.twitter.com/gZPpXeDGjk
— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) December 18, 2021
At the scene of a crash where a Vineland Police car and ambulance have turned over. The car is on its side on Lincoln Ave and Brandywine. You can see the ambulance turned over in a persons yard. Civilian car also involved. Still gathering details, no officers hurt. pic.twitter.com/AZOWbjUw4E
— Marcus Espinoza (@MarcusFOX29) December 18, 2021
Footage from NBC10 near South Lincoln Avenue in Vineland early Saturday morning showed what appeared to be the scene of a three-car crash involving a Vineland police SUV, an ambulance and a red sedan. The ambulance was flipped on its side; all three vehicles had heavy damage.
The Attorney General’s Office did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Saturday. Vineland police and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment, referring inquiries to the Attorney General’s Office.
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