Authorities said a suspected carjacker drove directly at a state trooper, who shot and killed the him
ELIZABETH -- A Union County grand jury determined a State Police detective acted in self defense when he shot and killed a man in a stolen car in 2015 in Union Township, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park said Wednesday.
Park, in a statement, said the grand jury voted not to bring any charges against the detective who shot Daniel Wolfe, 35, of Sayreville, on April 15, 2015 as State Police attempted to apprehend him in a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee.
She said two civilian witnesses saw Wolfe drive at the detective before he fired.
Authorities said the Cherokee was stolen from the owner of the vehicle in a carjacking two days before the shooting, on April 13, in Bloomfield.
Police subsequently received a tip that the vehicle would be in one of two places, and detectives found the Cherokee on Manor Drive in Union, the prosecutor said.
She said three State Police detectives, driving three unmarked police vehicles, set up surveillance near the Cherokee, and at 5:52 p.m., a man, later identified as Wolfe, was dropped off near the Cherokee.
As he walked toward the vehicle, and activated a key fob to unlock the vehicle's doors, the troopers, identified only as detectives No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, then moved in, with detective No. 1 on foot and the other two still in unmarked vehicles, Park said. She said detective No. 1 was wearing a black tactical vest bearing the words "State Police" in large block letters.
Authorities never released the name of the detective who fired the shots.
Park described the following series of events.
Wolfe, however, quickly entered the Cherokee and drove in reverse, striking an Audi parked immediately behind him.
As the detective on foot stood in front of the Cherokee, the other two detectives used their vehicles in an attempted to box in Wolfe.
The detective, standing with his back against a brick apartment building wall, yelled "Stop! Police!" several times, but Wolfe revved the engine of the Cherokee, quickly accelerated forward, and jumped a curb immediately in front of the detective driving directly at him.
The detective fired his 9mm service pistol twice with one bullet entering the front driver's side window and the second bullet entering the upper door frame of the front driver's side door.
One bullet struck Wolfe in the left shoulder and the second bullet entered his upper torso, striking multiple internal organs. Wolfe continued driving out of complex, making a right turn and then striking several parked cars before coming to a stop.
All three detectives rushed to the crash scene, with the detectives in the unmarked cars applying gauze to the gunshot wounds, and administering cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Emergency medical personnel were called, but Wolfe died a short time later.
Park said the state Attorney General's Shooting Response Team began an investigation.
A witness in a second-floor apartment less than 40 feet away saw the incident from immediately after Wolfe backed into the Audi, the prosecutor said. She said the witness saw Cherokee drive directly at the detective and believed the vehicle would have hit him if he had not fired his gun.
A second civilian witness, who was nearby on the ground level, also observed Wolfe drive near the detective, the prosecutor said.
Investigators took photographs of the Cherokee tire, including one set immediately beyond the concrete curb, and directly in front of the detective, and a second set of tracks along the escape route, authorities said.
They said the detective gave investigators a statement saying he was pinned against the wall with no way to escape the Cherokee. He said he believed his life was in jeopardy, authorities said.
Park said no video surveillance footage of the incident was found.
The case was presented to a grand jury as required by state regulation, but the grand jury returned a "no-bill" of indictment and found the detective was justified in using deadly force, Park said.
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