Grand jurors have cleared three Pleasantville police officers who shot and killed an armed man outside his home.
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About 10 officers in April responded to a 911 call from 19-year-old Alexis Perez, who told a dispatcher he felt like killing somebody.
Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain says officers did everything not to shoot Perez during the 6- to 7-minute ordeal, including allowing him to get within 6 feet of them even though he was armed with a knife.
“The Pleasantville officers repeatedly tried to gain control of the male through non-lethal means, but these attempts were unsuccessful,” McClain said in a press release.
Three officers opened fire when Perez refused to drop the weapon. Seven bullets struck Perez in the head, neck, chest, shoulder and abdomen. He died at the scene.
“It was the opinion of the independent expert that, under the totality of the circumstances, the officers’ versions of the shooting is supported by the evidence and that the officers’ use of deadly force was not only justified, but that the officers exercised great restraint in dealing with this subject and that the officers had no other reasonable course of action available to them at the time,” McClain said.
