Prosecutors say a Bergen County grand jury has declined to issue indictments in a police shooting that left a Garfield man, N.J. dead after he fled from custody last year.
County Prosecutor John Molinelli said 19-year-old Malik Williams escaped from Garfield police headquarters while he was being processed in December, shortly after he turned himself in on an aggravated assault warrant.
Two officers — one from Garfield and one from the Bergen County force, with a canine unit — later found Williams inside a garage and fatally shot him after he allegedly used a claw hammer and a metal hand saw with a 16-inch blade in a threatening or attacking manner.
The police dog could not be used to subdue Williams because he was not trained to attack armed suspects and releasing him could have endangered the officers, Molinelli said.
Both officers fired a total of nine rounds; Williams was struck five times, Molinelli said.
Williams' family has strongly disputed the account provided by authorities. The shooting also spurred multiple protests over the past six months.
