Suicidal man killed by Camden police in first fatal shooting for new force

A reportedly suicidal man was shot and killed Friday by Camden police, the first fatal police shooting since the regional department's formation in 2013.

The 33-year-old crashed into parked cars on a street in the Cramer Hill section before calling 911 and threatening to kill himself and police around 11:20 p.m. Friday, police said.

On a 911 recording released by Camden County Police, the man identified himself as Oscar Camacho.

"I want to come out at the cops. Like I said, whatever, we're going to go on a shootout, whatever. It is what it is," he said to dispatchers.

It was the first fatality at the hands of Camden police since the new department was established May 1, 2013, though the second time officers had shot a civilian, said a department spokesman Saturday.

Police found Camacho's unoccupied vehicle near Bergen and Harrison Avenues. Camacho approached the officers and drew a loaded gun. Two officers shot Camacho fatally.

Officers recovered a loaded firearm from his hand. He was not legally allowed to possess a firearm because of a drug conviction, police said.

In his 911 call, Camacho told dispatchers that he had "three boys" but that he was "done with [his] life." He said he had been drinking.

"I don't know what they're going to do. I'm not going to feel comfortable," Camacho said when he was told police and paramedics were on the way.

Told again, he said, "I'm not going to get locked up."

Camacho drove his Honda Civic the wrong way down a one-way street and said he crashed into other cars before calling 911. In a separate call, a resident told dispatchers a car had hit her van and another car before continuing the wrong way down the street.

The officers involved, whose names were not released, will be put on administrative duty. An investigation will be conducted by the Camden County Prosecutor's Office and the state Attorney General's Office.

On Wednesday, Camden Officer Prince Reed was shot and wounded in the line of duty, the first such shooting since the county force was created. The shooting happened in Parkside.

Also Friday, the suspect in Reed's shooting was captured in Collingswood after a two-day search. Victor Bennett, 21, of Camden, was charged with attempted murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and other offenses.

In June, the Camden County Police Department told The Inquirer that officers had fired their guns eight times since the force's 2013 formation.

Speaking in Camden in May, President Obama held up the new department as an example for other U.S. cities and called it "a symbol of promise for the nation."