AG’s Office Investigating Death Following a Police Encounter in Guttenberg, N.J.

The Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) is investigating a death following a foot pursuit involving law enforcement that occurred on November 12, 2024, in Guttenberg, Hudson County, New Jersey. The identity of the decedent, an adult male, is not being released at this time.

According to the preliminary investigation, at approximately 11:02 p.m. on November 12, 2024, officers from the Guttenberg Police Department responded to 68th Street and Bellevue Avenue after a 911 call was received reporting a disturbance. Officers were provided with a description of the individuals involved in the reported disturbance, including that an individual was armed with a gun. Officers located one of the individuals in the area of 7000 John F. Kennedy Blvd. East, who climbed over a railing adjacent to the building after a foot chase, and fell to his death over an embankment. Fire department and EMS personnel responded and the male was pronounced deceased at the scene. A gun was recovered on the decedent’s person at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.

A 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107(a)(2), requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved.