Man's Death After Arrest At Route 37 Gas Station Under Investigation: NJ Attorney General

ISLAND HEIGHTS, NJ — The New Jersey Attorney General's office is investigating the death of a man who was arrested Friday on outstanding warrants at the Shell gas station on Route 37, the attorney general's office announced.

The man's identity was not released.

The incident happened about 1 p.m. at the Shell station on the corner of Route 37 and West End Avenue in Island Heights.

According to the preliminary investigation, police officers from Island Heights and Toms River, along with officers from the Ocean County Sheriff's Office, were trying to arrest the man because he had active warrants, the attorney general's office said.

The man refused to get out of his vehicle, which was parked, and said he was having a medical episode, the attorney general's office said. Officers were able to arrest him and provided medical attention at the scene, attorney general's office said.

The man was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he was pronounced dead about 2:25 p.m., attorney general's office said.

The investigation is ongoing and no additional information was being released, authorities said.

"A 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107(a)(2), requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved," attorney general's office said.