A police officer who fatally shot a man armed with a knife inside a Middlesex County home nearly one year ago will not be criminally charged, a state grand jury ruled Monday.
Police responded to a 911 call regarding a dispute at 3:09 p.m. on April 24 at a home on Woodland Avenue in the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, which investigated the incident.
Old Bridge police Officer Christopher Hammel wasmet at the door by an unidentified woman, who told him26-year-old Luke Mendez was upstairs, according to police body-camera footage previously released by the office.
The video shows at least two other people inside the house and they begin having a discussion about whether or not the woman was justified in placing cameras inside the home. One of the other residents can be heard saying the woman was “threatening (Mendez) with the cops.”
In audio of the 911 call provided by the Attorney General’s Office, the woman can be heard telling police she wants Mendez out of the house.
As the officer calls up the steps for Mendez, he appeared at the top of the staircase and is holding a large knife, the video footage shows. Hammel told him to put it down and when Mendez did not, the officer pulled out his gun and told him to “relax.”
“Put the knife down and get down on the floor,” Hammel can be heard saying in the body-cam video. “You need to put it down and let me talk to you.”
He asked Mendez why he was upset, but he did not answer. The officer continued to try to persuade him to drop the knife for about two minutes before Mendez suddenly ran down the stairs with the knife in his hand.
Hammel fired three shots as Mendez reached the bottom of the steps, the video shows.
Hammel moved the knife away from Mendez, called for backup and medics, and can be seen placing his hands on the gunshot wounds before the video stops.
The video blurred out the faces of several people in the house and parts of the shooting scene.
Mendez was taken to Old Bridge Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:47 p.m., authorities said.
State law requires the Attorney General’s Office to investigate the death of a person who is killed during an encounter with police. The actions of the officer are then reviewed and include interviews of witnesses, collection of forensic evidence, review of video footage, and autopsy results from the medical examiner.
The findings of the investigation are then presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved. In this case, the jury decided that Hammel was justified in shooting Mendez, the office said.
Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.
Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
