N.J. cop convicted of manslaughter in deadly car chase shooting

An Essex County jury on Wednesday convicted Newark police officer Jovanny Crespo of shooting two men ^[1] who were in a car and armed with a gun during a frenzied car chase in which he jumped out of his patrol car three times and opened fire, ultimately killing the driver, Gregory C. Griffin, and wounding the passenger, Andrew J. Dixon.

The jury of seven women and five men jury found Crespo guilty on all six counts of aggravated manslaughter, aggravated assault, official misconduct, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Crespo was initially stoic as the foreman read the verdict, but afterward put his head down on the defense table as several members of his family broke down in sobs.

Convicted on all counts, Crespo faces 10 to 30 years in prison on the aggravated manslaughter charge alone. He faces up to 10 years for aggravated assault, plus another five to 10 for official misconduct. Defense attorney Patrick Toscano asked the judge to allow Crespo to remain free until sentencing, but the the prosecution argued that he was now a flight risk and should be detained.

Judge Michael L. Ravin agreed with the prosecution, and Crespo was led away, as sobs and screams filled the courtroom. One woman began screaming at the judge in Spanish, and began wailing in the hallway. Ravin scheduled sentencing for September 15.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the courtroom, family members of the victims sat calmly as the jury foreman read the verdict. They quickly left the courtroom after it was over.

The jury delivered its verdict after a marathon deliberation that lasted nearly six days. The deliberation, which began on June 23, was postponed for two days last week when a juror got sick. Three jurors were excused for personal reasons, and were replaced by alternates.

The deliberation was further delayed after the jury sent the judge a note on Friday indicating that the final alternate selected for the deliberation had “prior knowledge and opinion” of the case. The alternate had seen the police body camera video of the Jan. 28, 2019 chase, in which Crespo is seen jumping out of his patrol car three times to open fire on Griffin and Dixon as they attempted to flee police.

After interviewing each juror at sidebar on Monday morning, the judge was satisfied that the jury could deliver a fair and impartial verdict and refused to grant a mistrial.^[2] Instead, he instructed the jury to set aside any past knowledge or opinion of the case and focus on only the evidence presented at trial.

In rendering its verdict, the jury found that Crespo’s repeated use deadly force during the chase on the night of Jan. 28, 2019 was unjustified under the guidelines set by the state Attorney General. Those guidelines restrict a police officer’s use of deadly force to situations where either he or someone else is in “imminent danger” of death or serious bodily harm.

The incident, which was recorded on police body cameras ^[3], began at 11:17 p.m., when Newark police officer Valderia Sanchez stopped Griffin driving a Chrysler 300 with Dixon in the passenger seat on Pennsylvania Avenue. The video shows Sanchez repeatedly telling Griffin to turn the engine off, and to put his hands up after she spots a gun near the driver.

Griffin did not comply and instead sped away. Sanchez radioed for help and Crespo joined the pursuit, riding shotgun with his partner, Hector Ortiz, driving.

“Relax, bro! relax!” Ortiz is heard saying on the video as the late-night chase unfolded in Newark’s Central Ward, reaching speeds close to 50 mph.

Twice, Crespo jumped out of his patrol car, fired, and apparently missed. The chase continued to a third spot, a residential zone on Irvine Turner Boulevard, where Crespo rushed up to the passenger side of the Chrysler. The passenger side door was slightly ajar and Crespo pumped two shots in the vehicle, the video shows.

Griffin and Dixon were both shot once in the head. Griffin died; Dixon survived the shooting, but died sometime later in a car accident.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office presented to the case to the grand jury, arguing that Crespo was never in any “imminent danger” and that his decision to open fire three times was unjustified and unauthorized, endangering everyone on the street that night. Crespo was indicted on charges of aggravated manslaughter, aggravated assault, and two counts each of official misconduct and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He has been suspended without pay while awaiting trial.

During the seven-week trial held in Newark, the prosecution argued that the Chrysler was fleeing throughout the chase, and the driver, Griffin, was unarmed. The prosecution, led by Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Alexander Albu and assisted by Jessica Apostolou and George Gay, tried to convince the jury that even though there was a gun in the car, the vehicle was moving away from police throughout the chase, and posed no “imminent danger” to Crespo.

The AG guidelines forbid shooting at a moving vehicle unless as a last resort to prevent death or serious injury to the officer or another person.

At the trial, the prosecution argued that the Griffin was unarmed and attempting to elude police–not confront them–so he posed no “imminent danger” to Crespo, who came after them with guns blazing. And during closing arguments, Albu drew a narrow definition of what constitutes an “imminent danger,” saying it was confined to the facts of the moment.

Albu told the jury that the officer’s decision to use deadly force was confined to the moment. Albu argued that Crespo was never justified in shooting the driver, who was unarmed, and it was highly unlikely that Crespo saw a gun pointed at him at all three locations, because it was dark and the car windows were tinted.

The concept of imminent danger, he told the jury, “is not about what could happen. “It’s about what will happen.” Albu said Crespo’s decision to open fire endangered everyone on the street that night and was “unjustified and unauthorized” by the AG guidelines.

Crespo’s attorney, Patrick Toscano, argued that imminent danger wasn’t just confined to the moment, but should be expanded to include the entire chase. Two men with a gun in a car posed a danger to Crespo and everyone else, he told the jury, even if they were eluding police.

“There was nothing wrong in what he did in that situation,” Toscano told the jury during closing arguments. “Everything he did was reasonable.”

Toscano encouraged the jury to adopt a more flexible interpretation of the AG guidelines on deadly force. “All situations are different. Certain situations you can’t plan for,” he said.

At a news conference following the verdict, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens said he was “dumbfounded” by Crespo’s actions when he first saw the police body camera video four years ago. He said Crespo was held accountable to the law.

“No one, even a sworn law enforcement officer, is above the law or below the law,” he said.

Albu said the prosecution relied heavily on video from body-worn cameras, giving the jury an opportunity to see what happened. “It wasn’t just a matter of what one officer said versus what witnesses said at the scene. We had video.”

“We obviously entrust our police officer; it’s an immense responsibility,” Albu said. “We arm them with guns to protect us. But in so doing, they are bound by very specific training and guidelines that they have to follow, not only to protect themselves, but to protect the public.”

Toscano released a statement late Wednesday in which he vowed to appeal. He took issue with the way the jury deliberation was conducted and with some pre-trial rulings regarding evidence that he said went against his client.

“Obviously, we certainly are gravely disappointed with this jury’s decision, especially after several days of deliberations and three different alternate jurors having been chosen along the way,” Toscano said.

“Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, we believe that if highly relevant evidence, in large quantity, was not barred, pre-trial, we remain steadfast in our resolve that the jury would have seen this matter in an entirely different light. At the same time, however, because of what we believe to be myriad trial court errors requiring prompt reversal of this injustice, we look forward to filing and arguing our appeal to an objective appellate court panel.”

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Richard Cowen may be reached at [email protected].^[5]

References

^{^} Newark police officer Jovanny Crespo of shooting two men (www.nj.com)
^{^} refused to grant a mistrial. (www.nj.com)
^{^} The incident, which was recorded on police body cameras (www.youtube.com)
^{^} NJ.com (www.nj.com)
^{^} [email protected] (www.nj.com)