Newark's Response To Cop Shooting Defies The National Narrative: Mayor

NEWARK, NJ — A woman got out of her car when she saw a wounded cop, helping to drag the bleeding officer to safety despite the echo of gunshots that still rang out in the air. A concerned community member recognized a shooting suspect from a police alert and called it in. Residents of a building cooperated with police and evacuated so a search could take place. These are all details from Tuesday’s shooting in Newark that defy the current national narrative about policing – in a good way, the city’s mayor says.

A gunman accused of shooting two Newark police officers has been identified and is in custody, authorities said Wednesday. Both officers are expected to make a full recovery. Read More: Accused NJ Gunman Who Shot 2 Newark Cops Captured, Police Say (Update)

Mayor Ras Baraka said a community member called police around 1 p.m., reporting that they saw a man identified as a suspect in a shooting that took place on Oct. 28. Read more: 2 Cops Shot In Newark; Gunman Has Criminal Record, Mayor Says

Police responded to a building near Van Velsor Place and Chancellor Avenue, but didn't find the man inside. However, as they were leaving, the officers saw the man headed towards the building. After a brief altercation in the parking lot area outside, the man fired at close range, hitting one officer in the leg and the other in the upper body. Gunfire was returned, and the man retreated into the building, Baraka said.

Police SWAT members went "from apartment to apartment" in the building in search of the suspected shooter. Most of the building's residents were evacuated in the process, he added.

Several public safety officials thanked the community for their help during the shooting and its aftermath.

Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé said that with the assistance of a "Good Samaritan," some "heroic" officers helped to get the wounded cops to safety after shots rang out.

"This is the true collaboration and support we have from the community," Fragé said. "That’s what we’ve been trying to mend the past several years."

• See related article: Newark Will Take $12M From Police, Reinvest In Social Services
• See related article: Newark Police Recruits, Social Workers Graduate Side-By-Side
• See related article: Violent Crime Up In Newark For 2021, But Down Over 3-Year Period

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II said that authorities aren’t releasing more details at the moment about the woman who came to the wounded officers’ aid. But the public may get to know her more in the days to come, because she deserves a big thank-you for stepping up when a fellow human being needed a hand – even though it’s not her job, he said.

On Wednesday, Mayor Baraka stood alongside Fragé, Stephens and other public safety officials, crediting the community’s response to a situation that could easily have ended up much worse.

Baraka said that when he got home and went to bed after leaving the hospital around 11 p.m., he was “extremely concerned” about what other Newark residents were feeling as they went to sleep – knowing that a person may be at large in their community who is accused of shooting and trying to kill two police officers.

Then came the morning, and the news that police had apprehended the suspected gunman, he recalled.

“There’s a relief for many families,” he said. “And a relief for citizens across the city of Newark, who felt like the police did their job … and did it well.”

Baraka thanked all the law enforcement agencies that pitched in during the search effort. But the people of the Brick City also deserve a round of applause, he added, highlighting “all of the tremendous support we got from residents,” including the people in the neighborhood, the residents of the building, and “the woman who got out of her car and tried to stop the bleeding of an officer and help drag him to safety in the middle of what might have been a gunfight.”

“This goes against all of the narratives that people put out there nationally and statewide about police and community,” the mayor said. “Our residents in Newark have shown several times over and over again, that they're willing to put themselves in the way [of harm] and work collaboratively with the police department to make sure we bring people who are violating the law to justice.”

• See related article: 'Deadly Force' Exercise Gives Newark Residents A Taste Of Police Work

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page.