Middlesex County sheriff's officer cleared in Plainsboro fatal shooting
A state grand jury has decided not to file criminal charges against a Middlesex County sheriff's officer who fatally shot a Plainsboro man last year.
The grand jury concluded its deliberations Aug. 21 after hearing testimony and evidence including video of the incident involving Officer Phillip Nguyen who fatally shot 45-year-old Atiba Lewis, the state Attorney General’s Office said.
Lewis was shot shortly after 11:30 a.m. Feb. 16, 2022, in the street of his Plainsboro apartment complex.
Middlesex County sheriff's officers assisted by other law enforcement agencies had arrived to execute a civil order to remove Lewis from an apartment on Ravens Crest Drive.
During the encounter, sheriff's officers observed firearms in Lewis' home, which he was statutorily prohibited from possessing. A Superior Court judge had authorized a search warrant for the apartment where four firearms were retrieved, the Attorney General’s Office said.
The search warrant was executed while Lewis was not home and when he returned around 11:30 a.m., officers attempted to arrest him for unlawful possession of the firearms. As the officers approached, Lewis pulled out a knife, ran away and continued to threaten the officers with the knife, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The officers used Tasers in an attempt to subdue him, with no success. Video of the incident released by the Attorney General Office showed officers repeatedly told Lewis to drop the knife, but he lunged at the officers with the weapon several times.
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Around 11:35 a.m., with a knife in his hand, Lewis advanced directly toward Nguyen, who then fired his weapon, fatally wounding Lewis. The video showed Lewis collapsed across the hood of a police car and slid to the ground, dropping a water bottle and the knife. Officers and emergency medical personnel rendered aid to Lewis, who was transported to a Princeton-area hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:10 p.m.
State law 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.
The law 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.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Middlesex sheriff's officer cleared in Plainsboro fatal shooting
