State Exonerates Ocean SWAT team member Who Shot And Killed A Former NYPD Officer Last Summer

A state grand jury has declined to indict a member of the Ocean County Regional SWAT team who fatally shot a Little Egg Harbor man in the woods during an armed standoff last July, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice.

The jury voted not to file any criminal charges against the unnamed officer responsible for the death of Patrick Fennell, 57, Sycamore Avenue, the release states.

The shooting was investigated by the state Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team, which include up of investigators from the Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit.

After hearing testimony and evidence from the team’s investigation, the state grand jury voted “no true bill,” meaning it declined to indict the officer who shot Fennell.

The incident began when Fennell's wife called 911 at 6:52 p.m on July 16, 2016. She reported that her husband was drunk and that she heard shots fired in their basement. She had previously confronted Fennell in the basement and grabbed some loose bullets near him as he loaded a revolver.

"She said on the 911 call that he pushed her away as she took the bullets and she was “really scared,” according to the release.

Little Egg Harbor police were dispatched right after the 911 call. Fennell left the house with a silver .22-caliber revolver and was found in a wooded area behind the home when police arrived.

It was dark, hot and muggy when the SWAT team arrived sometime between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The SWAT team had to use a combination of flashlights, generator lights, rifle-mounted lights, night vision technology, and thermal imaging technology to locate Fennell, who was moving around a wooded area.

Negotiators could not establish communication with Fennell. SWAT team members attempted to move closer to Fennell and contain him.

As they got closer, officers continued to try to speak to him and get him to cooperate, telling him they were there to help, the release states.

Fennell did not cooperate at any time during the event. The officer who shot Fennell – “Officer 1” – was among the officers closest to Fennell and directly in front of him when the shooting occurred. Officer 1 was armed with a rifle.

The officers were within an estimated 20 to 25 yards of Fennell when Fennell, who apparently had been lying down under brush and leaves, sat up on the ground. Multiple officers reported that they saw Fennell raise the silver revolver to a ready position, with the barrel pointed up, the release states.

SWAT team members - including Officer 1 - ordered Fennell to show his hands and put the gun down. Fennell ignored the commands and pointed the gun in the direction of the officers directly in front of him, including Officer 1.

Officer 1 and several other officers said that Fennell told them "Don't come any closer. This is going to be a bad day."

Officer 1 fired multiple rounds at Fennell before pausing. Officers yelled that Fennell was “still moving,” and Officer 1 fired several more rounds at him. Officer 1 was the only officer who fired. He fired a total of eight rounds.

Officers moved in to secure Fennell once he stopped moving. He was lying on his back with wounds to the chest, right arm and hip area, and the revolver was between his legs. He was wearing only a bathing suit, a camouflage hat and boots, which were on the wrong feet.

Emergency medical personnel came to assist Fennell, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Fennell’s revolver, which was partially loaded, had been struck by a bullet and was damaged on the front-facing portion of the revolving chamber of the gun, consistent with the gun having been pointed directly at Officer 1. Two .22-caliber casings from bullets fired from Fennell’s revolver were found in the basement of the couple’s home, the release states.

Toxicology tests during the autopsy revealed that Fennell was intoxicated, with a blood alcohol concentration between 0.11 and 0.12 percent.

After listening to evidence presented by the Attorney General's Shooting Response Team, the grand jury voted not to indict the officer.

An officer may use deadly force in New Jersey when the officer reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to protect the officer or another person from imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm, according to the release.

In New Jersey, all investigations into police deadly force incidents are governed by an Attorney General directive – issued in 2006 and strengthened in 2015 – which establishes strict procedures for conducting those investigations.

When a state- or county-level officer uses deadly force, the case is investigated by the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team, made up of deputy attorneys general and detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice, as well as detectives of the State Police Major Crime Unit, all of whom operate independently of their usual chain of command and report directly to the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice or a designee.

The Attorney General directive creates a presumption that all cases will be presented to a grand jury, consisting of 23 civilians, for independent review unless the undisputed facts establish that the use of force was justifiable under the law.

Image: Patch file photo.