Keansburg Police Officer Committed No Crime In Fatal Shooting Of Local Man, Grand Jury Determines

KEANSBURG, NJ — A grand jury voted not to file any criminal charges against a Keansburg police officer who shot and killed a local man on Memorial Day weekend of 2024.

The man who was fatally shot by the police officer was Willem Roman, 46, a Keansburg resident. He was shot inside his mother's home on May 27, 2024, after he emerged from a locked second-floor bedroom and approached officers with a chainsaw, said New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin.

The officer who shot him is Keansburg Patrolman Tyler Manges. A state grand jury reviewed all the evidence in this case and the jury determined on Monday that Manges committed no crime, said Platkin.

Police body camera footage of the encounter is now released. There are two videos; one video is 11 minutes long and the other video is 2 minutes, 53 seconds long. Warning: These videos depict violence and it may be difficult for some to watch: https://njoag.box.com/s/zdqks6479s30o7t745pr9emlqr44cs7n

The 911 call made by Roman's mother is also included.

At approximately 1:07 p.m. on May 27, it was Roman's mother who called police to come to their Seabreeze Way home for a welfare check on Roman.

"I have a funny feeling there's something wrong with my son," the woman is heard sobbing in the 911 phone call. The 911 operator asks the woman to stop crying so she can hear her correctly.

The mother told the 911 operator her son was "talking about killing and things like that."

"Killing someone else or killing himself?" asked the 911 operator.

"Probably both," replied the mother.

The mother then said she could not reach her son, and his phone kept going to voicemail.

Keansburg Police officers then went to the home, and entered the home. It was the mother who let them inside. They located a man, later identified as Roman, in a locked bedroom on the second floor.

Officers attempted to speak with him through a closed door but Roman was generally not responsive. Roman then exited the bedroom wearing a dark colored ski mask and approached officers with a running chainsaw. Patrolman John Swartz deployed a conductive energy device (similar to a Taser) and Patrolman Manges fired his service weapon, said the Attorney General.

Roman was struck by both the Taser and the bullet, and he fell to the ground with the chainsaw still running.

Officers later discovered Roman also had a crossbow and multiple knives on his person. Officers rendered medical aid to Roman, who was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was initially listed in critical but stable condition. About two weeks later, however, Roman died on June 14, 2024 due to injuries sustained during the encounter.

Any time someone is killed in New Jersey during an encounter with law enforcement, the incident has to be presented to a grand jury to determine if the officer did anything illegal.

The evidence presented to a grand jury in this incident included all the 911 calls, video footage from body-worn cameras of all the officers present that day, interviews with law enforcement, photos, ballistics reports, medical records and autopsy results from the medical examiner. All this evidence was presented to a state grand jury.

After hearing the testimony and evidence, the grand jury finished its deliberations a year later, on Monday of this week, and voted “no bill,” meaning that no criminal charges should be filed against Patrolman Manges.

Video footage captured by two police body-worn cameras during the encounter was released, pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 to promote the fair, impartial and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters. Investigators shared those recordings with Roman's family before releasing them to the public.

Initial report on this incident: Officer Shoots Chainsaw-Wielding Man On Memorial Day In Monmouth County (May 31, 2024)

Follow-up report: Keansburg Man Shot By Police Has Now Died; Officer Who Shot Him Named (July 1, 2024)