A state grand jury has concluded that criminal charges are not warranted for a police officer who shot a gun-wielding man to death in Gloucester County after officials say he aimed the gun at cops, the state Attorney General announced Monday.
Deptford Police responded to a 911 call reporting a man,later identified as Daniel Nevius Sr., 55, of Sicklerville, pointing a rifle at people at a home on Fox Run Road in Deptford on the afternoon of Jan. 22, 2023, officials said.
Nevius was outside with the gun and threatened to kick in a door of the residence if an acquaintance inside didn’t come out, according to video and 911 calls released last year by the Attorney General’s office.
The first of three 911 calls about Nevius came from a juvenile reporting that a man driving a Jeep hit a stop sign and drove away erratically.
Surveillance video then captured Nevius driving up to the Fox Run Road residence and striking a parked SUV while yelling unintelligibly. He drove off before returning moments later and stumbling from the Jeep while holding the rifle, the footage shows.
“You ruined my life,” Nevius can be heard shouting in the video multiple times, adding that he had “nothing to lose … I’ve lost everything.” Video also shows him aiming the rifle at a man who drove to the house and tried to speak to Nevius.
Two more 911 calls came from inside the house.
When police arrived, they approached the residence on foot and spotted Nevius, body camera footage shows.
When he allegedly aimed his rifle at police, Deptford Officer Luke Ivey fired his service weapon one time, striking Nevius.
Emergency medical personnel tended to Nevius, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Surveillance video and body camera footage released last year did not show the moment when Nevius pointed the rifle at officers, but body camera audio captures Ivey saying, “He’s down. He pointed the rifle at us.”
A 911 call from inside the residence captured the escalating situation seconds before Nevis was shot, as a woman reported, “he’s talking about kicking the f------ door down.”
Moments later, she said, “please do not let them shoot him,” before a single shot rings out.
Evidence gathered in the case, including witness interviews, body camera footage and autopsy results, were presented to a state grand jury, which voted “no bill” on March 4, meaning they decided criminal charges should not be filed against Ivey.
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
