County says cop involved in gunfight was justified
TRENTON » A Trenton Police sergeant who was on a meal break when he got into a gun battle with three suspects in summer 2017 was cleared Friday by prosecutors of any wrongdoing.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office determined the cop’s actions were justified since he feared for his life, closing a use-of-force investigation without presenting the case to a grand jury for consideration of charges.
The office did not identify the TPD sergeant, but previous news reports had said Sgt. Charles Lamin was the cop involved in the Aug. 21, 2017 gun battle.
Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said in a statement “there were no material facts in dispute” following the investigation, conducted under the state Attorney General directive.
The AG’s office reviewed and affirmed the county prosecutor’s finding in Lamin’s case.
Lamin was not wounded in the shootout. He was working the 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift, and was on his meal break when he heard gunfire just before 10 p.m., near Southard Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
He was in uniform, with his badge and departmentissued gun, and in his personal vehicle but didn’t have a police radio at the time he heard the initial shots.
Lamin rolled down his window to try to figure out the location of the shots and headed toward the Donnelly Homes at Southard and New Willow streets.
The sergeant saw two masked suspects with red and black hoodies running out of the housing project. One of the suspects fired two shots at Lamin while another pointed a gun at him.
Lamin gave chase to the suspects, who got into a sedan heading northwest on Southard Street. Lamin used his cell phone to call police dispatch to let them know of the unfolding police shooting.
The suspects stopped their vehicle on Kulp Street and Summit Avenue. Three men got out of the car fired at Lamin, who was still in his vehicle.
Lamin ducked for cover behind his car door and returned fire. The suspects stopped shooting and ran off on foot. The cop got back in his vehicle and pursued them but lost sight of the suspects.
Lamin gave a description of the suspects, one wearing a red hoodie, another in a black “hoodie” and a third wearing a denim jacket. Trenton Police arrived at the scene just after 10 p.m.
Lamin tracked down another sergeant and broadcasted a suspect description over the police radio.
While headed toward Kulp Street, cops found two men, Tommy S. Allen and Darryl Milton, who matched the description, walking on Arlington Avenue.
Allen and Milton were frisked for weapons but didn’t have any. Cops let Milton go and jailed Allen on warrants.
Lamin wasn’t injured but taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for evaluation, and didn’t have a chance to try to identify the suspects.
His gun was seized and sent to the New Jersey State Police lab, which determined he fired at least seven shots.
The city’s ShotSpotter system picked up 20 shots near the entrance of Donnelly Homes where Lamin heard the gunfire. The system detected 11 gunshots fired near on Kulp Avenue.
Police use body camera and surveillance to identify the shooting suspects by their clothing.
Allen and Milton were charged and pleaded guilty to second-degree aggravated assault last year, for shooting J.H., who was taken by private vehicle to Capital Health Regional Medical Center.
They’re awaiting sentencing.