No charges for Fort Lee cops who shot knife-wielding man in 2023: AG

The Fort Lee police officers who shot and killed an aggressive, knife-wielding man in February of 2023 will not face criminal charges following a vote from a state grand jury, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.

On the morning of Feb. 4, 2023, members of the Fort Lee Police Department responded to a townhouse on John Street where Mohamed Bounaouar, 42, of Las Vegas was "armed with a knife" and "acting in an aggressive manner." Later in the morning, Bounaouar moved toward officers while holding a knife, triggering them to fire their weapons, according to Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.

Bounaouar's death was investigated by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability and included recordings from 911 calls, footage from body-worn cameras and a taser, interviews with both law enforcement personnel and civilians, ballistic testing results, autopsy results, and photographs.

The recordings have been released to the public by the Office of the Attorney General and can be found here.

The results of the investigation were presented to a grand jury which voted not to file any criminal charges against the involved officers Monday, said Platkin.

According to the investigation, upon their arrival to the townhouse Fort Lee police officers were informed by a family member that four people were inside with Bounaouar.

Officers entered the townhouse and attempted to speak with Bounaouar from the bottom of a staircase. Three of the four people inside of the house were able to leave with the assistance of law enforcement, per Platkin. The fourth occupant was on the third floor and was not able to exit as Bounaouar was on the second floor.

Additional resources including crisis negotiators, the Emergency Services Unit, and members of the Fort Lee Fire Department responded throughout the morning. Responders tried to negotiate with Bounaouar who was throwing items down the stairs and breaking various items in the home, according to Platkin.

At about 10:20 a.m. members of the Fort Lee Fire Department and law enforcement attempted to remove the fourth family member from the third-floor window with a bucket truck. As this was taking place, Bounaouar made his way into the second-floor rear balcony.

"There, with a knife in his hand, he moved in the direction of the officers who were on the neighboring balcony," stated Platkin.

Officer Emmanuel Espinal deployed a taser and detectives John Gallo and Stephen Domenick fired. Officer Espinal then deployed his taser a second time, according to Platkin.

After the shots were fired, officers who had been posted at the bottom of the stairs made their way to the second floor where they found Bounaouar wounded on the balcony. He rose to his feet again and lunged toward them, still holding the knife, triggering Officers Matthew Lyle and Gabriel Avella to shoot, according to Platkin.

Bounaouar was pronounced dead at about 10:39 a.m. following the rendering of first aid on the scene.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fort Lee NJ officers will not face charges after fatal shooting