Authorities have identified the man killed in Newark Wednesday night.

NEWARK -- Authorities have identified the 33-year-old man killed in a double shooting Wednesday night.

Keshawn Garner, of Newark, was shot at about 8:30 p.m. in the 400 block of 18th Avenue between South 10th Street and Springfield Avenue, acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose announced in a joint release Thursday.

He was transported to University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:11 p.m., authorities said.

A 31-year-old man was also shot during the incident, but survived, officials said.

Authorities declined to answer questions on a car seen at the scene of the shooting with shattered windows.

Officials said they have not yet identified a motive for the shooting or any suspects. Anyone with information is asked to call 877-847-7432.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

An "inclusionary zoning" rule, approved on first reading Wedneday, would require that 20% of units in large apartment projects be affordable. A final vote is scheduled for July 12

NEWARK -- Moving to prevent gentrification as Newark's housing market heats up, the City Council voted Wednesday night to grant preliminary approval to a rule requiring 20 percent of large residential projects be set aside for people with low and moderate incomes.

The council voted 7-0, with two members absent, to approve Ordinance 17-0842, titled "Inclusionary Zoning for Affordable Housing." A public hearing and final vote is scheduled for July 12. 

The measure would amend the city's land use law to require a fifth of the units in residential projects of 30 units or more be restricted to people making no more than 80 percent of the median income for the region, or up to $50,000.

Some of that 20 percent would be restricted to people making as little as 20 percent of the region's median income.

The measure is backed by Mayor Ras Baraka and crafted with input from developers, with the support of local housing advocates and community groups. 

"Thousands of units are under construction and more are in the permitting process," said John Goldstein of the Newark Housing Coalition, who welcomed the council's action. "People who turned up their noses at Newark a generation ago are now willing to pay high rents to be a part of our vibrant community. Without Inclusionary Zoning, our City will be taken over by highly paid commuters, while longtime residents and business owners are displaced."

Proposed amid the city's ongoing building boom, the measure is intended to insure that people of all income levels share in the new housing being created.

Officials said Hoboken is the only other municipality in the state with a similar requirement that large residential projects include an affordable component.

Some experts have warned that the measure could have the unintended consequence of deterring some projects, if developers or their lenders determine that the requirement does not allow for a sufficient profit margin. in that case, those experts say, the city could be forced to grant tax breaks or other incentives to keep those projects alive.

Still, some recent high-profile projects, particularly in the city's popular downtown section, have included affordable units voluntarily.

For example, at the mixed-use redevelopment of the former Hahne & Company Department Store, 65 of the 160 apartments are affordable. And the One Theater Square apartment tower, now rising across the street from NJPAC, has includes 26 affordable units out of total of 245 apartments.

For projects that developers feel can't meet the new rule, developers could seek to make a $100,000 payment for each affordable unit that otherwise wold have to be included. That money would go into a fund used to help construct affordable housing elsewhere in the city.  

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Mayors of towns on NJ Transit's Morris & Essex lines asked employers to give employees leeway when trains are diverted to Hoboken when Amtrak starts track work in Penn Station New York.

Some mayors on the rail line that NJ Transit will send to Hoboken instead of New York during Amtrak's summer track work in Penn Station asked employers to give employees leeway about when they're expected to report to work in anticipation of delays.

Mayors in South Orange and Maplewood wrote letters for their constituents to give to their employers, asking them to consider flexible work schedules or to allow  employees to work from home to avoid anticipated delays when Amtrak begins track work on July 10. That work prompted NJ Transit to divert all Morris & Essex rush hour trains from Penn Station New York to Hoboken Terminal until Sept. 1.

A similar diversion after an April 3 derailment and track repair in Penn Station New York  caused massive delays and overcrowding. NJ Transit officials said diverting M&E trains spares 75 percent of their rail commuters from disruption from the track work.

The letter from South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum mentions that 4,000 commuters who ride from South Orange station. She asked that, if employees can't work from home, that employers change their start and finish times to take them out of the heart of the commuting rush during that period of time.

Collum said a resident suggested the letter  after she asked for crowd sources solutions from residents.

"One resident suggested getting the Governor from N.Y. and N.J. to issue a joint statement to employers of both states encouraging them to be as accommodating as possible for employees given the circumstances," she said. "I brought this up when the mayors were finally able to meet with NJ Transit officials and unfortunately, nothing has come of it."

Instead, she and Maplewood Mayor Victor De Luca and wrote their own letter for residents to download, Collum said.

De Luca said he's received a positive response from residents about the letters.

"We heard some NYC employers had no clue what was happening," he said.

Commuter Larry Hirsch said the letter tells his employer about the commuting challenge he'll face this summer. 

"Though my employer is usually understanding when NJ Transit makes me late, this will help me by making sure they understand my situation, and (they) can plan to allow me the flexibility to meet my commuting challenges," he said. "It increases the peace of mind for me and other South Orange commuters facing an extra stressful rush hour commute this summer."

Collum and Maplewood De Luca were among several municipal officials from towns on the line who met with NJ Transit officials to express concerns about the plan to divert M&E trains to Hoboken. De Luca estimates that 23,000 commuters could be affected.

While NJ Transit is discounting the price of M&E tickets during the track work, for South Orange commuters, it amounts to $5 a day. The agency also arranged to have M&E rail tickets honored by PATH and NY Waterway ferries and on NJ Transit buses to get commuters to and from New York.

"That amount pales in comparison to the cost of additional day care and coordinating new pick-up and drop-off times, so parents and guardians can get to work," Collum wrote.  "Working families will feel it the most."

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

With the Democratic nominee for governor, Phil Murphy, by his side, Baraka vowed to insure that Newark's renaissance was shared by all of his constituents

NEWARK -- Before a large crowd of supporters in front of City Hall, Ras Baraka said he was "humbled" to be running for re-election as mayor of the state's largest city next year with a slate of all but one City Council incumbents, and he vowed to continue progress the city has made on growth, job creation and crime reduction during his first four-year term. 

"Thank you. Thank you," Baraka told a crowd of about 500 supporters, who cheered him under the noonday sun after he was introduced by Council President Mildred Crump. "I'm humbled by the support that we're getting here today, and I say we because, while I'm running for re-election as mayor, we have a whole team of folks that are running here with us as a team in the city of Newark."

Baraka then went on to call up each of the eight incumbent City Council members who will be running on the "Baraka Team" slate in the city's May 2018 municipal elections, who then lined up behind him on the City Hall steps.

Conspicuously absent was Councilwoman Gayle Cheneyfield-Jenkins, who was not expected to attend. Her office did not return a request for comment, and several council members who were asked why she was not among them said they preferred not to speak for her.

"The Team is open," said Councilman Rafael Quintana, appearing to extend an olive branch to the council slate's only holdout.

The humbling support Baraka referred to included attendance at the event by Phil Murphy, the wealthy investor and former Democratic National Committee treasurer who is the party's nominee for governor in November. Baraka's was among the first major endorsements of Murphy, who established himself as the Democratic front-runner early in the gubernatorial primary with a $10 million loan to his own campaign and the backing of county chairmen.

"Someone said, 'Isn't it a little early to get going?'" Murphy said, with the mayor and council elections almost a year away. "Hey, I'm the last guy to say it's too early to get going."  

Murphy said he was the one "humbled" to be on hand with Baraka, whom he called a "great mayor of a great city."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else today," Murphy said.

Others on hand included a who's-who of Newark and Essex County elected officials: state Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex), who was an early support of Baraka in his 2014 bid for mayor; County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, who said Baraka not only puts Newark first, "he puts the residents first,"; Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura. U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-10th District), a former Newark councilman, was in Washington Thursday, but sent his regards.

Baraka, 47, a Newark native and son of the activist and state poet laureate Amiri Baraka, announced his re-election bid following a first term presiding over a downtown building boom, employment and technology initiatives, and the hiring of police officers to address crime city-wide.

With growth and development emanating west to Newark from Manhattan and the Hudson River waterfront as the nation's economic recovery continues, Baraka said he would keep on pushing initiatives intended to build lasting prosperity for the city, particularly for those constituents who have not always shared in Newark's sporadic gains.

In one example, Baraka noted the City Council's preliminary approval Wednesday night of an inclusionary zoning ordinance he backs requiring 20 percent of new apartments in buildings of 30 units or more be set aside for low and moderate income earners.

But he has also won praise from the city's development community, and has become a common sight at groundbreaking and ribbon cutting ceremonies for development projects, among the most notable being the opening of a Whole Foods supermarket in March, which is part of the mixed-use redevelopment of the Hahne & Company Department store site. 

Baraka talked of filling a $93 million budget deficit he was left by his predecessor, Cory Booker, now the state's junior U.S. senator, with whom Baraka clashed as a councilman. He said he had hired more police officers, bought new snow plows and garbage trucks, and begun negotiations with city unions long without contracts. And he looked forward to what he said would soon be full local control of the state's largest school district. 

"We can't go back we have to go forward," Baraka said, his voice rising, cheers from supporters punctuating each line. "No matter how rough the terrain, no matter how many times we fall, how many opportunities we let slip, we have to stand forward, look forward and go forward."

A look back at the season that was.

COMING SOON: NJ.com ranks the Top 100 athletes of the 2016-17 school year on Monday, June 26

Following are the final list of honors for the 2017 softball season. State-wide awards and leaders are listed first, followed by conference awards and rankings.

• PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Julie Rodriguez, Old Tappan

• PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Mia Faieta, Cedar Grove

• COACH OF THE YEAR: Brian Upshaw, Montgomery

• TEAM OF THE YEAR: Immaculate Heart

• ALL-STATE TEAMS

• ALL-GROUP TEAMS

FINAL STATS
• Final season stat leaders
• 2017 no-hitters

All-Prep coaches selections

GROUP RANKINGS
• Group 4
• Group 3
• Group 2
• Group 1
• Non-Public

CONFERENCE NOTEBOOKS
• Julie Rodriguez of Old Tappan is the Big North Conference Player of the Year
• Julie Contravo of Rancocas Valley is the Burlington County Scholastic League Player of the Year
• Tori Szrom of Egg Harbor is the Cape-Atlantic League Player of the Year
• Deanna Pineiro of Audubon is the Colonial Conference Player of the Year
• Chelsea Manto of Robbinsville is the Colonial Valley Conference Player of the Year
• Caity Hughes of South Plainfield is the Greater Middlesex Conference Player of the Year
• Miyoksi Suarez of Hudson Catholic is the Hudson County Interscholastic League Player of the Year
• Ali Moran of Lodi Immaculate is the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Player of the Year
• Brooke Wiarda of Morris Knolls is the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Year
• Kristi DiMeo of Bishop Eustace is the Olympic Conference Player of the Year
• Demi Rivera of St. John Vianney is the Shore Conference Player of the Year
• Peyton Schnackenberg is the Skyland Conference Player of the Year
• Mia Faieta of Cedar Grove is the Super Essex Conference Player of the Year
• Grace Fagan of Kingsway is the Tri-County Conference Player of the Year
• Gianna Randazza of Johnson is the Union County Conference Player of the Year

CONFERENCE RANKINGS
• Big North Conference
• Burlington County Scholastic League
• Cape-Atlantic League
• Colonial Conference
• Colonial Valley Conference
• Greater Middlesex Conference
• Hudson County Interscholastic League
• North Jersey Interscholastic League
• Northwest Jersey Interscholastic League
• Olympic Conference
• Shore Conference
• Skyland Conference
• Super Essex Conference
• Tri-County Conference
• Union County Conference

Millburn High School held its commencement ceremony on the athletic field at the school.

MILLBURN -- Millburn High School held its 2017 commencement at the school athletic field on Thursday.

Approximately 360 seniors wearing Millburn colors of white and royal blue, marched onto the athletic field eager to receive their diplomas.

The ceremony started at 11 a.m. and featured speeches by Principal William S. Miron and Class President Noah Brookhim.

MORE PHOTOS

Graduation season is here and NJ.com is capturing the moments for many New Jersey high schools. Check back at nj.com/middlesex for other local high school graduation coverage. Be sure to check out our complete graduation coverage at nj.com/graduation.

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Patti Sapone may be reached at psapone@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Instagram @psapo,  Twitter @psapone.  Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Also convicted of robbery and carjacking, he faces life in prison, according to prosecutors

NEWARK -- The Essex County Prosecutor's Office on Thursday announced a jury has convicted a city man of gunning down 52-year-old mini-mart owner during a June 2013 robbery in Irvington.

Ivery Brinson. (Essex County Prosecutor's Office)
 

A jury seated before state Superior Court Judge John Zunic found Ivery Brinson, 29, guilty of aggravated manslaughter, felony murder, robbery, conspiring to commit robbery, carjacking, conspiring to commit carjacking and weapons offenses, according to a statement from Acting County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino.

Brinson, who was convicted of reckless manslaughter in 2009, was one of four men charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Narendrak Patel, of Parsippany, during the June 19, 2013 robbery of the Irvington Mini-Market on Myrtle Avenue. When the group walked into the mini-mart, prosecutors say, Brinson pointed a handgun at Patel, telling him: "You know what it is."

When Patel pulled out a wooden stick, Brinson fired three shots, one of which struck and killed Patel, according to the Prosecutor's Office. After robbing the cash register, the men carjacked a 74-year-old man at gunpoint and fled, abandoning the car at the Bradley Court Housing Complex in Newark.

The conviction is Brinson's second for a homicide, records show. In 2005, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office announced murder, robbery, conspiracy and weapons charges against Brinson, then 18, and a 16-year-old named Adam Baines in connection with the Sept. 12, 2005 killing of Robert Ballew.

The Star-Ledger reported that police believed Ballew, 41, of Moonachie, had been in the city to buy drugs when he was shot several times just before 4 a.m on Fairmount Avenue in Newark.

Court records show prosecutors later dismissed the murder and robbery charges when Brinson pleaded guilty in 2009 to reckless manslaughter, for which Judge Michael Petrolle sentenced him to eight years in state prison, with a requirement he serve 85-percent of his sentence. The date of Brinson's release from state custody could not immediately be determined Thursday afternoon.

Court records show Baines was sentenced that same year to four years of probation after pleading guilty to a third-degree conspiracy charge and receiving credit for time spent in jail.

Jury convicts man in killing of popular teacher

Within weeks of Patel's killing, authorities arrested Brinson, Carnell Corbett -- his cousin -- and two of Brinson's brothers: Shakil Brinson and Deion Brinson. All four were indicted by a grand jury in June 2014. 

Corbett and the two other Brinson brothers have since pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, according to the prosecutor's office.

In a statement, Assistant Prosecutor Purva Deshpande, who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Scibetta, called Patel's killing "a horrid crime committed against a hardworking business owner."

"It is our hope that the guilty verdict will bring a measure of comfort to the Patel family," she said.

Brinson's sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 3, according to the Prosecutor's Office. He faces life in prison.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

On Saturday and Sunday nearly 5,000 participants will descend on South Mountain Reservation in West Orange to raise money for the National MS Society.

WEST ORANGE -  Thousands of runners will again slop through the mud and over obstacles this weekend in South Mountain Reservation. The annual event, MuckFest MS New Jersey, has taken place on this site since 2013.

The two-day event is part of an effort at 12 sites nationwide to raise money for research and treatment of multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the central nervous system and affects more than two million people worldwide.

MuckFestMS has raised nearly $27 million since its inception, with $500,000 coming from last year's New Jersey event. Nearly 5,000 runners are expected, so participants and spectators are encouraged to consult the parking maps for details.

Organizers have promised a new obstacle this year called Slippy Sloppy. Based on the video on the MuckFest Facebook page, it seems this will be a good place for runners to cool down and clean off some of the mud they have picked up along the course.

The first wave kicks off at 9 am both Saturday, June 24, and Sunday, June 26, and on-site registration is open until 10 am.

John Munson may be reached at jmunson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @john_munson. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Two Newark Central High School seniors and two of its alumni designed and built a shelter from a shipping container to house people during emergencies or natural disasters.

The lime-colored shipping container sitting in the parking lot at Newark's Central High School doesn't look like much until its metal doors are swung open.

Inside is everything a family of four would need for temporary housing should they be displaced by a natural disaster.

There's a tiny kitchen nook with stackable chairs; a fold-down dining table on the wall; a compact sink with running water; a working stovetop, with a refrigerator underneath; a portable toilet that sits inside the shower, and a sleeper sofa in the den.

It only takes a few giant steps to tour this creatively designed space.

This tiny survival venue is just 20 feet long and 8 feet high and wide, but the essentials to live are smartly placed, all powered by solar panels on the roof.

Its electrical energy is stored in batteries.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns  

What more could you ask for from Help in a Hurry, a disaster relief housing container aimed at getting a family back on its feet.

It was created by two Central High School students and two alumni who can see engineering and architecture careers in their futures.

Can I get a round of applause for Central seniors Saleem Bush and Joseph Marshall, and alumni Fedrick Jean-Jacques and Ishmael Jalloh, now attending Essex County College?

"We had to think big and small at the same time," said Bush, 18.

A big assist is what they needed to get the project going. Joseph Jingoli & Son Inc., a contractor-construction manager in Lawrence, met Central High School officials two years ago when they both had similar interests.

As part of Jingoli & Son's outreach division, which helps people in the community access trades, the company was looking to start its Live Class program to teach young people how its latest project was being constructed. That happened to be the McCarter Switching Station, a facility owned by Public Service Electric & Gas, which is needed to handle Newark's increasing demand for power.

Unbeknownst to Jingoli & Son, Central High School, which has a pre-engineering academy, was looking to partner with a construction management company that would expose its students to careers and internships.

The unexpected match fit like a glove. Students began learning about construction. They met industry professionals, subcontractors and code officials. Permit approvals, budgets and learning skills in engineering and architecture became a part of their young lives.

Joseph R. Jingoli Jr., the company's chief executive officer, heard about the $3,500 shipping container the school had purchased for its disaster relief project. Central had the concept, but it didn't have the expertise to make it work.

"It's really a story about some amazing young people with a really good idea," Jingoli said. "Why don't we take the container and why don't we have the young people build it at the same time while we're building our project."

His company backed the project, paying $68,000 to develop the emergency container once the students figured out how it should be designed and built.

"We tried to make it feel like they're in their own home," said Marshall, 18. "We started lifting each other up as a team, and doing everything we could to get this project done."

They  were challenged to figure what works when they began construction three months ago. It is a metal box after all, and they had only 160 square feet to renovate.

"You had to think outside the box," said Jalloh, 21.

They worked on it before school, starting at 7 a.m., showing up early just like a construction crew, being held to the same standards. They had a schedule. Bush did the wiring; Jean-Jacques took care of the plumbing; Marshall handled the drilling; and Jalloh focused on solar panels and did a lot of the research to see what was the best fit.

Jingoli said the students were also designing the container as a command center that would be marketed and sold to utility companies for use during a storm.

"The live classroom took a real-world problem and made it into a possible solution," said Naseed Gifted, the school's vice principal in charge of the pre-engineering program. "This just shows what kids can do when given an opportunity."

They thought of just about everything for the container. A layer of ceramic paint is used to cover exterior surfaces in hot climates to repel 95 percent of radiation.

An air conditioner in the wall switches to heat. A crawl-space filtration system collects rainwater from the gutter. The container has a fire extinguisher, smoke detector, a fire alarm and a handicap-accessible ramp. Outside, there are plants by the front door and sliding glass window. The synthetic green surface resembles grass, giving it a residential flavor. A black mailbox is attached to the structure, which is equipped with a 72-hour emergency food kit.

"All you need is water and warm it up," said Jean-Jacques, 19.

They didn't forget anything.

MORE CARTER: Greater Newark Fresh Air Fund needs your help to send kids to camp

"You can't clip the creativity," said principal Sharnee Brown. "This (field) is something they have access to now. They can see themselves vividly doing this in the future. It's not like some dream."

The Newark students are not finished. Jalloh and Jean-Jacques are interns and look the part, wearing sport coats, shirt, ties and slacks. After graduation on Monday, Bush and Marshall will join them.

This summer, Jingoli will have them teach young people at the Boys and Girls clubs in Atlantic City and Camden how to design a shipping container.

The company, which has major construction projects in those cities, will do the same thing there as it has in Newark. Young men and women will learn about construction, getting access to trades and internships.

Jingoli will conduct its Live Classroom program to teach young people at the Boys and Girls clubs about a large office tower it's building in Camden, and how it is converting the old Taj Mahal into a casino hotel entertainment complex in Atlantic City.

Each project will have a shipping container component with Newark students leading the way.

"They are professionals now," Jingoli said.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or

nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL

The Essex County College gym was filled Thursday night with 432 Columbia High School granduates, and thousands more family and loved ones crowding the bleachers

NEWARK -- Columbia High School, from the South Orange and Maplewood School District, held its 2017 graduation on Thursday, at the Essex County College gym.

A total of 432 graduating seniors received diplomas during the 4 p.m. ceremony, where Columbia Principal Elizabeth Aaron read each name aloud.

Student Council President Samori Etienne led a salute to the flag, followed by a welcome from Aaron and Senior Class President Chloe Holt Reiss. Many of the graduates topped the red caps above their gowns with personalized messages and collages, while parents and other loved ones took smart-phone pictures and videos from the crowded bleachers.

MORE PHOTOS

Graduation season is here and NJ.com is capturing the moments for many New Jersey high schools. Check back at nj.com/middlesex for other local high school graduation coverage. Be sure to check out our complete graduation coverage at nj.com/graduation.

BUY THESE PHOTOS

Are you one of the people pictured at this graduation? Want to buy the photo and keep it forever? Look for a link in the photo caption. You'll have the ability to order prints in a variety of sizes, or products like magnets, keychains, coffee mugs and more.

SHARE YOUR GRADUATION PHOTOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow us on Twitter @njdotcom and tag your photos #njgrads.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

BLOOMFIELD -- Ebony is a 10-year-old cat in the care of A Purrfect World Rescue. Her family needs to find a new home for her as a child in the house has allergies that are worsening. Ebony, who has been described as "very friendly with children and adults," should be an only-pet in a home. Ebony has been spayed and...

Ebony 

BLOOMFIELD -- Ebony is a 10-year-old cat in the care of A Purrfect World Rescue.

Her family needs to find a new home for her as a child in the house has allergies that are worsening.

Ebony, who has been described as "very friendly with children and adults," should be an only-pet in a home. Ebony has been spayed and declawed; she is up-to-date on shots.

For more information on Ebony, call Kristina at 201-965-9586, email info@apurrfectworld.org or go to apurrfectworld.org. A Purrfect World is a nonprofit group in Bloomfield that places stray and abandoned cats in permanent homes and is currently caring for more than 100 felines.

Shelters interested in placing a pet in the Paw Print adoption column or submitting news should call 973-836-4922 or email essex@starledger.com.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

As body-worn camera initiatives unfold throughout New Jersey, the success of each program will be fundamentally linked to each department's implementation of comprehensive policies.

By Daniella Gordon

Nearly half of New Jersey's 500 police departments now use body-worn cameras, a dramatic increase in just the last couple of years.

That number promises to further grow as funding is made available to expand the use of this technology. Indeed, Newark, with the state's largest police force, is slated to have its body-worn camera program in place by 2018. The policies and procedures that are adopted and enforced with respect to these body camera programs will have significant ramifications for the people of New Jersey.

The desire for and perceived value of a "neutral" account of police-civilian interactions is nothing new. In fact, the placement of dashboard-mounted video recording devices in police vehicles was a key component of the respective Consent Decrees for federal monitoring of the New Jersey State Police the Newark Police Department, each entered in an effort to correct a history of unconstitutional racial profiling, excessive force, and other abuses.

Of course, body-worn cameras are quite unlike dash cams, as dash cams are immobile and do not offer anything approximating the perspective of an individual officer on his or her feet.

As body-worn camera initiatives unfold throughout New Jersey, the success of each program will be fundamentally linked to each department's implementation of comprehensive policies regarding the use and retention of body camera footage.

After two years of study, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) recently issued a groundbreaking report, Policing Body Cameras: Policies and Procedures to Safeguard the Rights of the Accused. A number of the recommendations go beyond the New Jersey Attorney General's 2015 directive, which established a procedural baseline for the implementation of body worn camera programs.

The report reflects input received from a variety of experts, including law enforcement, the defense community, academics, technologists, and public interest groups.

Among its 10 key policy recommendations, NACDL advises:

• Departments should strictly enforce policies regarding when cameras should be recording, and should not leave that decision to an individual officer's discretion
• An independent agency should retain and control and access to the body camera footage
• Recordings be maintained for a sufficient period of time to allow the defense to obtain or investigate potential exculpatory evidence
• Defendants and their counsel promptly be provided with a copy of the footage. 

Newark and other police departments should implement protocols that align with NACDL's use and retention recommendations. NACDL's recommendations will help the various stakeholders in the criminal justice system meet their goals of protecting the public and the police alike, and yield reliable criminal justice outcomes.

Without well-established parameters in place, departments risk implementing expensive programs that could produce unreliable evidence, and which may be subject to abuse.

For instance, without clearly articulated standards for when an officer must record, a body camera may capture only a portion of an encounter, resulting in a grossly inaccurate portrayal of the interaction.

Courts will also have a role to play in ensuring that footage from body-worn cameras furthers the truth finding purpose of criminal trials rather than distorts it.

If a police officer fails to follow the protocols established, for example not recording when the policy clearly dictates he should have been recording, a court should instruct the jury that it may draw the inference that the unrecorded portion would have corroborated the defendant's version of the events rather than the officer's version.  

It is easy to see why body cameras, in concept, have such broad support. Interactions between police and civilians should not be a matter of an accused person's word against that of a police officer. The goals of accountability and justice are at the heart of the movement.

However, as NACDL's Body Camera Task Force concluded, support for body camera programs must be qualified by an expectation that police departments will develop use and retention policies that promote and secure public safety, privacy, and the rights of the accused.

As these programs roll out all over the state, there is no better time than the present to ensure that this is accomplished at the highest standard possible. New Jersey can and should lead the way for jurisdictions across the nation considering the implementation and policing of body camera policies and procedures.

Daniella Gordon, a New Jersey-based criminal defense lawyer, sits on the board of directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).

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Honoring the best of the best.

COMING SOON: NJ.com ranks the Top 100 athletes of the 2016-17 school year on Monday, June 26

Another year is in the books, but the best track and field athletes made it a season to remember. Below is NJ.com's post-season honors for 2017. Check out the links and let us know what you think in the comments section below. 

STORIES
• East Orange's Cory Poole is NJ.com's Track Athlete of the Year
• Rahway's Jordan West is NJ.com's Field Athlete of the Year
• Franklin's Dashaun Gourdine is NJ.com's Coach of the Year
• Franklin is NJ.com's Team of the Year

ALL-STATE 
• NJ.com's three All-State teams

ALL-GROUP 
• NJ.com's five All-Group teams

A SEASON IN REVIEW 
• Full coverage from the Meet of Championships
• Full coverage from the Group Championships
• Full coverage from the Sectional Championships
• A look back at N.J.'s county and conference championships

Pat Lanni may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatLanniHS. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.

Honoring the best of the best.

COMING SOON: NJ.com ranks the Top 100 athletes of the 2016-17 school year on Monday, June 26

Another year is in the books, but the best track and field athletes made it a season to remember. Below is NJ.com's post-season honors for 2017. Check out the links and let us know what you think in the comments section below. 

STORIES
• Union Catholic's Sydney McLaughlin is NJ.com's Track Athlete of the Year
• Donovan Catholic's Alyssa Wilson is NJ.com's Field Athlete of the Year
• Union Catholic's Mike McCabe is NJ.com's Coach of the Year
• Union Catholic is NJ.com's Team of the Year

ALL-STATE 
• NJ.com's three All-State teams

ALL-GROUP
• NJ.com's five All-Group teams

A SEASON IN REVIEW 
• Full coverage from the Meet of Championships
• Full coverage from the Group Championships
• Full coverage from the Sectional Championships
• A look back at N.J.'s county and conference championships 

Pat Lanni may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatLanniHS. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.

Authorities said no charges have been filed against the driver.

NEWARK -- A Newark woman was killed Thursday night after being hit by a car on Broadway and Third Avenue in Newark, authorities said.

Tamara Campbell, 35, was walking in the area at 6:45 p.m. Thursday when she was hit by a 2000 Hyundai Sonata, acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a joint release Friday.

Campbell was taken to University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 7:43 p.m., authorities said.

The 87-year-old woman who was driving the car also hit two utility poles, a traffic control box, a tree, a fence, and a parked car, authorities said. She remained at the scene of the accident, officials said.

No charges have been filed against the driver, but authorities say they are continuing to investigate what caused the crash.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

N.J. Social Justice institute: It's time to reimagine our youth justice system by closing Jamesburg and Hayes youth prisons and investing in community-based intervention. Watch video

By Ryan P. Haygood

I recently spoke to a class full of bright students at the Newark Boys Chorus School about New Jersey's youth prisons. I talked about how kids of all races commit offenses at similar rates, but two-thirds of kids in the state's youth prisons are black.

By contrast, less than six percent of kids in youth prison in the state, or less than 15 kids, are white. This gives New Jersey the third-highest black/white youth incarceration disparity rate in the nation.

At the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, we are preparing to do just that  -- and we need your help.

On June 28, 1867, the New Jersey Training School for Boys, also known as Jamesburg, New Jersey's largest youth prison, opened its doors. Since then, thousands of children have passed through its gates.

And on June 28, 2017, we will launch a campaign outside of Jamesburg's prison doors to declare that 150 years of youth incarceration is enough. Our goal is to achieve racial and social justice for our state's young people. 

We are lifting our collective voices to transform New Jersey's youth incarceration system into a community-based system of care by closing Jamesburg and the Female Secure Care and Intake Facility, also known as Hayes, the state's girls' youth prison. We must make sure that our youth receive the rehabilitation they need, so that they can mature and grow into responsible adults.  

That is not happening in the current system. Instead we have a revolving door of recidivism.  Of the approximately 500 young people released from commitment in state youth facilities in 2012, 80 percent had a new court filing/arrest; 68 percent had a new adjudication/conviction; and nearly 33 percent were recommitted within three years of release.  

Studies show that long-term youth incarceration actually increases recidivism. Children who are incarcerated are also more likely to be imprisoned and to live in poverty as adults. Put simply, this failed system does not promote public safety. Instead, it punishes children who need rehabilitation, intensive wrap-around and developmentally-appropriate services, and community support so that they don't keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again.   

This failed system is also extremely expensive. New Jersey spends an incredible $200,000 to incarcerate one child for one year in a youth prison. Imagine what could be done in a child's life with $200,000 each year. (To learn more about New Jersey's broken youth incarceration system, please read the Institute's recent report "Bring our Children Home: Ain't I a Child?")

We cannot support New Jersey's system of youth incarceration. It is ineffective, racially discriminatory, and destructive to youth and their families. It is a moral stain on our state. 

More than 40 New Jersey organizations have signed onto a letter to our elected leaders echoing this demand, including the NAACP New Jersey State Conference, the New Jersey Black Issues Convention, My Brother's Keeper-Newark, the ACLU of New Jersey, Faith in New Jersey, and the Drug Policy Alliance.

These organizations have joined our campaign and signed on to this letter because 150 years is enough. We encourage your organization to stand with us as well by signing on to this letter which can be found here.

Help us build strong children. In the early 1800s, a few decades before Jamesburg opened, abolitionist Frederick Douglass famously argued that, "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." Douglass's words echo today, with an eerie precision, in New Jersey's youth prisons.

It is time for New Jersey to invest in what works: community-based, treatment focused programs for our youth.

And for those young people who may need to be placed in a secure environment for public safety reasons, we must make sure that that these facilities are small, publicly operated, developmentally appropriate, and treatment centered, and provide wrap-around services that are close to home and familial support--not faraway youth prisons.  These publicly-run facilities should be staffed with public workers who are dedicated to the full rehabilitation of our children and to creating a more humane, treatment-focused justice system. 

We call on you to help us reimagine our youth justice system by closing Jamesburg and Hayes youth prisons and investing in community-based intervention, prevention, diversion, and alternatives-to-incarceration programming for our youth.

On June 28, 2017 at noon, outside the gates of Jamesburg youth prison, we will launch our campaign, taking the advice of the wise students I spoke to in Newark, to help build strong children so that there is no need to repair broken men and women.

On that day we will lift our collective voices and say: 150 years is enough!

Please join us.

Ryan P. Haygood is the President and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

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The Class of 2017 graduated June 22.

BLOOMFIELD -- Bloomfield High School's 163rd Commencement Thursday evening started with a tradition - the graduating class, followed by administrators and teachers, marching several blocks from the school to Foley Field.

As the graduates showed off their red robes, friends and members of the community lined the streets to offer well wishes and loud, congratulatory cheers.

Family members and school officials kept the enthusiasm strong as the 472-member Class of 2017 descended onto the field for the graduation ceremony.

The class boasted $5.75 million in scholarship money earned, and acceptances to dozens of two- and four-year colleges.

BUY THESE PHOTOS

Are you one of the people pictured at this graduation? Want to buy the photo and keep it forever? View the gallery on desktop, look for a link in the photo caption to purchase the picture: Click on it, and you'll have the ability to order prints in a variety of sizes, or products like magnets, keychains, coffee mugs and more. The option isn't available on mobile. 

Graduation season is here and NJ.com is capturing the moments for many New Jersey high schools. Check back at nj.com/essex for other local high school graduation coverage. Be sure to check out our complete graduation coverage at nj.com/graduation.

SHARE YOUR GRADUATION PHOTOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow us on Twitter @njdotcom and tag your photos #njgrads.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Edgar Patricio Jimenez-Dominguez, 27, was shot to death early Sunday

NEWARK -- A 19-year-old man has been charged with murder in the slaying of a cook, who was gunned down during a suspected robbery in Newark's North Ward, authorities said Friday.

Tyrie Bullock (Photo: ECPO) 

Tyrie Bullock also faces charges of robbery, felony murder and weapons offenses in the shooting that killed Edgar Patricio Jimenez-Dominguez, 27, acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a joint statement.

Bullock was arrested at his East Orange home, officials said.

Jimenez-Dominguez was fatally shot in the 100 block of North 7th Street shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday, according to the prosecutor's office. The preliminary investigation found the shooting came during a robbery.

Friends gathered at the crime scene described the slain Newark man as "an amazing person," who worked at a pizzeria and loved to play soccer, and volleyball.

The state's largest city had 24 murders as of Sunday compared to 43 killings during the same period last year.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Christopher Diorio, 31 was arrested Thursday and faces charges in another car theft in West Orange, police said

WEST ORANGE -- A man is accused of swiping a pocketbook from an 87-year-old woman in a wheelchair and stealing her rental car at a West Orange store, officials said Friday.

Christopher Diorio, 31 (Photo: Essex County jail) 

Christopher Diorio, 31, was arrested Thursday at an apartment he rents in West Orange, according to a township spokeswoman. He was charged with vehicle theft, theft of the pocketbook and eluding police in the incident last week at a Main Street CVS store.

Diorio is also charged with stealing another car in West Orange, spokeswoman Susan Anderson said. Police recovered the cars in Irvington.

Records show Diorio, originally from Summit, was also being held on drug-related offenses at the Essex County jail. Details on those charges were not immediately available.

The woman, a West Orange resident, was shopping with her caregiver at CVS last Thursday around 12:30 p.m. when a thief snatched the purse off the back of her wheelchair, officials said in a statement.

He found the woman's car keys in her bag and fled in the rented Toyota Camry. Police said officers briefly chased the stolen car on Route 280 after the theft.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Ten jugs of crack cocaine also seized, according to authorities.

NEWARK -- Essex County Sheriff's detectives arrested a reputed Bloods street gang member, along with his mother and brother after a search that netted several weapons and drugs at a residence in Newark's West Ward, officials said Friday.

Bureau of Narcotics investigators served a search warrant at a home on Learning Lane Thursday night, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura. The target of the probe, Tyrese Harris, along with his brother, Jarrod Timmons, 23, and his mother Ramona Timmons, 53, were detained at the residence.

In a living room closet, detectives found a sawed-off .20 gauge Winchester shotgun, a loaded .357 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, a .22 caliber Ruger rifle, a BB gun along with shotgun shells and .40 caliber ammunition, the sheriff said in a statement. Officers also found ten jugs of crack cocaine and hollow point bullets.

The Smith & Wesson handgun was reported stolen during a home burglary in Richland, Colorado last August, according to officials.

Detectives found a small bag of marijuana in the kitchen and Jarrod Timmons was arrested with three glassine envelopes of heroin, the sheriff added.

Harris, 18, admitted that the weapons, ammunition and crack cocaine belonged to him, according to Fontoura. He was charged with numerous drug distribution and weapons-related offenses.

Jarrod Timmons was charged with drug possession and found to have open warrants issued by Newark municipal court, authorities said. Ramona Timmons was also arrested on local warrants. 

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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