Grand Jury Rules No Criminal Charges for Officers in Deloatch Shooting

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday night that a grand jury has decided not to pursue criminal charges against the officers involved in the fatal shooting of city resident Barry Deloatch.

Deloatch, 46, was shot and killed on Sept. 22, 2011 in an alley on Throop Avenue following a foot pursuit by two New Brunswick Police officers, Brad Berdel and Daniel Mazan.

His death ignited a frenzy of media coverage and community outcry, as some residents mobilized to demand justice for Deloatch's death.

An attorney for Mazan previously , and that Deloatch and Mazan were caught in a struggle in the alleyway in which Deloatch was striking the officer with a 2x4 plank of wood.

Berdel fired a single shot that pierced Deloatch's aorta and killed him.

A release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office presented the following account of the events of that night: 

"During the early morning of September 22, 2011, uniformed New Brunswick police officers in a marked police car were on routine patrol in the second ward of the city.

Officer Brad Berdel and his partner, Officer Daniel Mazan, saw several men, including Mr. Deloatch, emerge from an alley in the area of Seaman Street between Throop and Remsen avenues.

As the police vehicle got closer, they heard someone yell “5-0,” a common street term warning of the arrival of police. As further reported by the New Brunswick Police Department, the officers stopped to investigate.

Officer Mazan got out of the passenger side of the patrol car and asked the men to show him their hands. All complied, except Mr. Deloatch who, according to police reports, kept his left hand behind him.

Despite repeated demands, Mr. Deloatch failed to comply, causing Officer Mazan to draw his weapon and make a final demand for Mr. Deloatch to show his hands, New Brunswick police reported.

Mr. Deloatch fled. Officer Mazan holstered his weapon and ran after him. Officer Berdel radioed police headquarters, advising of the foot pursuit, and followed in the patrol car.

Officer Mazan caught up to Mr. Deloatch in an alley between 103 and 105 Throop Avenue, a distance of approximately one-and-a-half blocks from the initial stop. Police reported that a struggle ensued.

Officer Berdel arrived and saw Officer Mazan jump over a gate leading into the alley. Officer Berdel entered the alley during the struggle, and, following a series of events that required the grand jury to scrutinize his decision, fired a single shot from his service weapon, striking and killing Mr. Deloatch."

Mazan and Berdel were taken to the hospital, and Mazan was treated for injuries to his right hand and arm and released, the release said. 

Deloatch was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital shortly after. An autopsy showed evidence of heroin and cocaine in his bloodstream, the release said.

The Prosecutor's Office oversaw the investigation, and notified the state   Division of Criminal Justice of the Office of the Attorney General, according to the release.

"Having secured the scene of the initial police confrontation with Mr. Deloatch and the location where the shooting occurred, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office identified 38 items of physical evidence, many of which were submitted for scientific testing and analysis to the New Jersey State Police Laboratory and the Crime Scene and Ballistics units," the release said.

The investigation also included door-to-door witness interviews for eight days, in which 83 neighborhood residents were interviewed, the release said.

Witnesses included four emergency medical service responders, 22 police officers, two landlords of properties where the shooting occurred and two civilians who were with Deloatch right before he fled, the release said.

The case was heard by the jury for 11 consecutive weeks, and was the only one heard by the jury, the release said.

The Prosecutor's Office will not release any information identifiying the jurors, the release said. 

"The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office can only report that the grand jurors, who met weekly for 11 consecutive weeks, heard 57 witnesses, including civilians, law enforcement personnel, medical personnel and expert witnesses in the fields of pharmacology and the use of force," the release said.