Nearly two years after 22-year-old Bernard Placide Jr., was shot and killed at an Englewood home, the officer who pulled the trigger will not be criminally charged, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced Monday.
The office began its investigation on Sept. 3, 2022 when officers from the Englewood Police Department were called to the West Englewood Avenue home at 8:29 a.m. in response to a 911 call about a violent domestic disturbance, officials said.
His mother, Myrlene Laurince, was the caller and reported that her son had attacked his family and that he “doesn’t know what he is doing.”
The office said she told dispatchers that her son was armed with a knife and was stabbing and trying to kill a relative inside the home.
When police arrived, they found Laurince, who reported her injuries and injuries to a second victim, but that the most seriously wounded victim was in the bathroom, the office said. The officers found the other injured person in the bathroom and also discovered Placide in a bedroom holding a knife.
Body camera video released last year showed police with guns drawn reaching Placide’s half-open bedroom door at 8:36 a.m., with the shooting occurring within a minute.
In that time, Officers Luana Sharpe and Brian Havlicek ordered Placide through the door to “drop the knife” and to “put your hands up.” Drawing his Taser, Havlicek then kicked at the door and discharged the device into a shirtless Placide, who fell as Sharpe rushed into the room.
As Placide writhed, Sharpe grappled with his arms, continuing to yell for him to “drop it.” She grabbed at his right hand, screamed and appeared to pull back her arm in pain as the blade cut her hand. A moment later, she shot Placide.
He was taken to Englewood Hospital and pronounced dead at approximately 9:17 a.m., the office said.
The three people in the home who had been wounded before officers got there were treated and released from a hospital, investigators said. Sharpe was treated for an injury to her hand from the knife.
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 Sharpe was justified in shooting Placide, the office said.
“There is no outcome that would feel adequate to Mr. Placide’s family,” a spokesperson for the office told NJ Advance Media. “No decision rendered by a grand jury will bring the person they love back to them – and we are deeply sorry for the grief this decision reignites for all who knew Bernard Placide Jr.”
A year after the shooting Placide’s family gathered with dozens of advocates and community members at Milton A. Votee Park in Teaneck for a memorial service honoring the 22-year-old man’s life. They called on the officers involved to be held accountable, saying the shooting was a tragedy that should never have happened.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, a national civil rights leader, delivered a speech at the memorial, urging protestors to make their voices heard.
The family’s attorney, Eric Kleiner, criticized the attorney general’s office Monday in a fiery comment that accused the office of improperly handling the case and concealing information from the grand jury.
“The police officer shot a retreated suspect pinned on the ground with his back and head against the wall while in an electrocuted state caused by the Taser...” he said. “If that’s not a crime, what is?”
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office defended its investigation and said the grand jury was presented with “all relevant law, all applicable criminal offenses – including criminal homicide offenses – and the facts uncovered in the investigation.”
“In no case would we withhold incriminating evidence,” the spokesperson said. “The evidence presented in this case included interviews of witnesses, video obtained from three body-worn cameras and a conducted energy device, audio from a 911 call, and autopsy results prepared by the medical examiner. It is not for us to question the decision of the grand jury, and the Office of the Attorney General stands by the integrity of our process.”
Placide’s family also sued the city the city for wrongful death, claiming officers botched their response to a domestic violence call at his home. The outcome of that suit was still pending as of Monday night, Kleiner said.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
