NEWARK, NJ — A state grand jury has declined to charge two officers in connection with the death of a 43-year-old city man who fled police, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday, Jan. 24.
Raul L. DeJesus died of heart disease and “methamphetamine toxicity” following the Jan. 5, 2023 police chase, the office said in a statement.
The grand jury voted not to file charges against officers Alberto Vera and Nicholas Miller in connection with DeJesus’ death, authorities said. The grand jury deliberations concluded on Jan. 22, authorities said. Those deliberations are held behind closed doors.
The video, which was released to the public in 2023, shows police chasing DeJesus and then finding him on an embankment.
Vera approached DeJesus around Orange Street and South 11th Street in Newark and attempted to detain and question him after seeing DeJesus get out of a vehicle that was sought in connection with a Dec. 10, 2022, homicide in Paterson, authorities said.
“DeJesus fled on foot through various residential yards, with Officer Vera in pursuit,” the attorney general’s office said. “After running for approximately four blocks, Mr. DeJesus was located on an embankment along Route 280 westbound, leaning against the side of an overpass in the area of mile marker 12.8.”