Police Won't Be Charged For Fatally Shooting Suspect In Fort Lee: AG

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A state grand jury has voted not to file criminal charges after a probe into the death of a Las Vegas man who was shot by police in his relatives' Fort Lee home in 2023.

Mohamed Bounaouar, 42, of Las Vegas died on Feb. 4, 2023, according to the Attorney General's Office.

His death was investigated by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability in accordance with the Independent Prosecutor Directive of 2019 ensuring that all fatal police shootings be investigated.

The investigation determined that:

The Fort Lee Police Department responded to John Street in Fort Lee following a 911 call from a family member reporting that Bounaouar was inside the home armed with a knife, "acting in an aggressive manner, and cutting his own belongings."

Four other people were in the home.

"Officers entered the townhouse and attempted to speak to Mr. Bounaouar from the bottom of a staircase," said the Attorney General's Office. "Later, with the assistance of law enforcement, all except one of the family members inside the residence were able to leave. The family informed officers that there was a family member on the third floor who was unable to exit, as Mr. Bounaouar was occupying the second floor."

The Attorney General's Office then gave this account:

"Throughout the morning, additional resources from the Fort Lee Police Department responded including crisis negotiators, the Emergency Services Unit (ESU), along with the Fort Lee Fire Department. Police continued attempting to negotiate with Mr. Bounaouar as items were being thrown down the stairs in the vicinity of officers and various items were being broken in the townhouse by Mr. Bounaouar.

"In an effort to get the remaining family member out of the third floor, additional officers were positioned on a neighboring balcony, adjacent to the balcony of the townhouse that Mr. Bounaouar was occupying. At approximately 10:20 a.m., the Fort Lee Fire Department and law enforcement, using a bucket truck, attempted to remove the remaining family member from the townhouse’s third-floor window. During this effort, Mr. Bounaouar exited the residence onto his second-floor rear balcony. There, with a knife in his hand, he moved in the direction of the officers who were on the neighboring balcony. Officer Emmanuel Espinal deployed a taser and Detectives John Gallo and Stephen Domenick discharged their firearms. Officer Espinal then deployed his taser a second time.

"After hearing the gunfire, the officers who had been posted at the bottom of the stairs, within the residence, ascended the staircase to the second floor. They found Mr. Bounaouar wounded and lying on the floor of the balcony. They ordered him to drop the knife, but he rose to his feet and began moving towards them while still holding the knife.

"At that point, Officers Matthew Lyle and Gabriel Avella discharged their firearms, striking Mr. Bounaouar. Officers then removed two knives located near Mr. Bounaouar. Emergency medical personnel rendered first aid at the scene. Mr. Bounaouar was pronounced deceased at approximately 10:39 a.m. One officer sustained a non-life threatening ricochet gunshot injury to his hand."

Police recordings of the incident are available here: https://njoag.box.com/s/xhglxy...