State AG releases video, radio calls from fatal Newark police-involved shooting
The shooting happened on Jan. 19. Wali Bey, 42, was fatally shot during an encounter with police officers.
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The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General released radio recordings and video footage from a deadly police-involved shooting in Newark earlier this year.
The shooting happened on Jan. 19. Wali Bey, 42, was fatally shot during an encounter with police officers.
Authorities say that a Newark police officer with the department’s Quality-of-Life Unit was conducting surveillance near Ross and Thorne streets when he saw “suspected narcotics activity.” The officer radioed in a description of the suspects and their vehicle – including a white Chrysler.
Officials say that when the officer arrived a few minutes later, they detained two people near the Chrysler and ordered the driver – later identified as Bey – to put his hands on the dashboard. They say that Bey started to reverse, which is when Officer Nashid Reynolds ran to the Chrysler, put his hand on the hood, and ordered Bey to stop.
Officials say that Bey started to drive forward, which is when Reynolds fired his gun, striking Bey and a passenger.
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The vehicle continued down Ross Street before crashing into a parked car. Bey later died at the hospital. The other person was treated and released.
"What was the need for the shots like. You don't see him pull a gun. Nothing. He just took off," said Mustafa Bey, Bey's cousin.
Bey’s friends and family have been critical of the shooting and say that they believe he was unfairly targeted.
"This could be anybody's child. It could have been anyone and so we have to let this play out as if it is someone else that we love,” said Queen Clyburn, a community member. “No human should be gunned down without a weapon because there was no weapon."
The Essex County Prosecutor's Office is handling any potential criminal charges related to the civilian suspects.
As for the fatal police-involved shooting, the investigation is ongoing, and no other information is being released at this time.
Bey's family and friends say they are prepared to go to the state level to get justice.
"After watching the videos, it is clear that the case should be presented to a grand jury so they can review the evidence and determine if criminal charges should move forward," Newark Mayor Ras Baraka wrote in part in a statement. "Once the criminal process concludes, the City of Newark will conduct its own independent investigation of the incident."
