Fatal NJ Police Shooting: Videos Of Man Who Shot Dog Released

KNOWLTON, NJ — A fatal shootout between New Jersey State Police troopers and a 34-year-old man, Timothy Parks, remains under investigation and is detailed in footage from police body and dash cameras, as well as the 911 call, released by the NJ Office of the Attorney General.

The graphic blurred and redacted videos show Troopers Joselo Machuca and Eduardo Tejada, as identified in a news release on Monday by Acting Attorney General Andrew Bruck, coming to the scene of Parks’ car on Nov. 7, where they found it in a ditch on Starlite Road in Knowlton at about 2:30 a.m., his dog in the passenger seat.

Previous Coverage: NJ Troopers Fatally Shoot Man Who Opened Fire On Dog

Bruck said the Attorney General's Office met with Parks' family on Monday to review the recordings.

In the garbled 911 call, the caller described the car as “sketchy” and having been there for a while, saying they felt it was suspicious, especially the way the car had been positioned. The unidentified caller estimated it was there for at least about 20 minutes, the car on, though they told the dispatcher they didn't know whether or not they saw anyone inside of it.

In the videos, Parks, of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, could be seen holding the dog at points, the dog looking out the window, before troopers approached the car and asked Parks several times, “Sir, are you OK?”

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The dog barked once and then moved to the back seat, where it was visible from the rear passenger side window, the Tyler Childers song “All Your’n” playing from the car and heard throughout the troopers’ videos.

The troopers started ordering Parks to “keep his hands up front,” as one of them told him, “do not touch that dog.” Both troopers were outside of the car, one on either side of the rear windows.

One of them yelled at Parks to keep his hands on the wheel and up front.

In the video, while the music continued playing, Parks can be seen from the dash cam video from one of the two trooper vehicles, lighting what appears to be a cigarette in his mouth, not listening to the troopers’ orders. The dog then returned to the front passenger seat.

One of the troopers started yelling “don’t touch the gun" at Parks, who then fired a shot in the direction of the dog. The troopers subsequently fired their weapons and backed away from the car, one of them stating “shots fired.”

Parks exited the car from the driver’s side and fell to the ground in front of the car, the officers returning near the front of the car, their weapons drawn, as both headed toward the driver’s side of the car.

“Sir, are you OK?” one of them asked Parks, as both neared the area where he had fallen. One of them said there was no pulse, the other one responded, “Go ahead, start CPR," before the other trooper started chest compressions on Parks, notifying dispatch “CPR is in progress.”

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office confirmed to Patch that the dog did not survive the incident.

For the videos and the 911 call released by New Jersey's Office of Attorney General, click here.

Bruck said the investigation has a 10-step process with the "Independent Prosecutor Directive," set by former Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in 2019.

As part of Grewal's establishment of the directive, which he intended to be an "independent investigation into police use-of-force and death-in-custody incidents," there is a 10-step investigative process. After the investigation wraps up, a grand jury then makes the determination if criminal charges are to be filed.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a local news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.