Mayor, NAACP back Bridgeton prosecutors' probe

BRIDGETON, N.J. - The mayor of Bridgeton and civic leaders on Friday backed an investigation by local prosecutors of a fatal police shooting last month that caused further controversy this week when a dashboard camera video of the encounter was released.

Some civil rights activists have urged the state Attorney General's Office to take over the probe, alleging a conflict of interest at the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office.

"I truly believe in the Prosecutor's Office," Mayor Albert Kelly said during a news conference at police headquarters.

He and a state NAACP official commended the community for its peaceful response to the Dec. 30, 2014, incident, in which the passenger of a car involved in a traffic stop was shot dead by police.

The passenger, Jerame Reid, 36, of Bridgeton, was African American, as is the officer who fired most of the shots, Braheme Days.

Kelly, too, is black. Nearly 80 percent of Bridgeton's residents are black or Hispanic.

"I will leave it up to you to judge," Kelly said at the news conference, which also drew members of the community. But, he said, "we walk united as a community as we move forward."

The shooting has stirred several small protests in Bridgeton. But Kelly and others lauded protesters and residents for acting peacefully.

"You have shown great restraint as we wait for the results of the investigation," said Richard Smith, president of the New Jersey state conference of the NAACP. He called Bridgeton an example for other cities with police-involved shootings.

Smith added that the NAACP did not believe the Attorney General's Office needed to take control of the case.

"We don't jump out half-cocked; we examine the situation, the facts," he said of the NAACP, while voicing his confidence that the local prosecutor's office would do the same.

Bridgeton Police Chief Mark Ott called the shooting a tragedy, and added, "Unfortunately, we can't go back in time and undo that."

Reid's wife, Lawanda, and supporters say the dash-cam video shows Reid with his hands raised, and unarmed.

Local leaders repeatedly declined to talk about the officers' actions Friday, but Kelly acknowledged that he initially did not want to release the video.

"I cringe every time I see the video," he said. Still, he added, "we did not want the perception to be that we are hiding anything from the public."

Some critics have argued that city leaders failed to address the community properly after the shooting.

"They should have come out and taken a position on the matter, whether they were for or against it," said Walter Hudson, chairman of the Salem County-based civil rights group National Awareness Alliance. He has repeatedly said Reid was unarmed.

"People shouldn't feel scared from the police," Hudson said Friday. "They should feel a warm, welcoming feeling."

Of Bridgeton's 25,000 residents, 20,000 are black or Hispanic. About a third of the residents live below the poverty line, a proportion well above the state average of 10 percent and Cumberland County's 17 percent, according to census data.

Hudson has called for the Attorney General's Office to take control of the probe, in part because Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae knows Days. Webb-McRae has recused herself from the case.

Kelly called Webb-McRae, who also is African American, "the epitome of integrity."

This week, the Attorney General's Office said that it would review county prosecutors' findings, which is standard procedure in police-involved shootings, but that the case would remain with the county.

"We believe that they will find the facts and that a just statement will be given," the Rev. Albert Morgan of Union Baptist Temple in Bridgeton said Friday.

His remarks drew sarcastic chuckles from some present, though others agreed with the sentiments expressed by the mayor.

"We have to do this in a peaceful way," said Joyce Allen, 60, of Vineland. "And we have to wait until we get the truth."

The dash-cam video, released in response to a South Jersey Times open-records request, shows Days approaching the vehicle that Reid was in, stopped for allegedly running a stop sign.

Upon investigating, Days is heard telling the other officer, Roger Worley, that he sees a gun in the glove compartment. Both officers then draw their weapons and Days demands that Reid show his hands.

"I'm going to shoot," Days says moments after, adding, "You reach for something, you're going to be [expletive] dead."

Days tells Reid to not move and to show his hands.

Reid then gets out of the car, for reasons that remain unknown, with his hands in front of him, and Days begins firing.

Since 2013, residents have filed nine Municipal Court complaints against Days and Worley for harassment and other issues, according to the Times. All were dismissed.

Reid had a criminal history, including a nearly 15-year prison sentence for attempted murder, according to court records. He had fired at state troopers, according to news reports. He was released in February 2008.