Lawsuit: Mantua police officer fired deadly barrage of 13 shots at man who called 911

MANTUA – A police offer fired 13 shots into a man making a 911 call about possible intruders near his home, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against the officer and Mantua Township.

The suit claims the officer, Salvatore Oldrati, had no reason to shoot 49-year-old Charles Sharp III as the victim stood outside his home around 1:35 a.m. on Sept. 14, 2021.

It also alleges Oldrati “had a history of prematurely drawing his service weapon.”

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The suit contends Oldrati, hours before killing Sharp in two bursts of gunfire, “was overheard on the police radio threatening to shoot a barking dog.”

The suit seeks unspecified damages on behalf of Sharp’s estate and his juvenile son.

Lawsuit: Mantua police officer fired two deadly bursts

Kathleen Burgo, the mother of Sharp’s child, filed the suit on May 31, one week after the state Attorney General’s Office announced a manslaughter charge against Oldrati.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, Oldrati opened fire within five seconds of stepping from his police car outside Sharp’s home on the 200 block of Elm Avenue.

The agency said Oldrati gave no warning to Sharp, and that he shot the 21-year Air Force veteran and carpenter after another officer at the scene said, “He’s got a handgun on him, right there.”

Sharp was holding a replica firearm but “had neither raised ... nor brandished the weapon,” the lawsuit says.

Suit: Charles Sharp III had no time to respond to command

It says Oldrati shot Sharp before the other officer could complete an order to drop the replica gun.

The other officer had said, “put the gun do-“ when Oldrati shot Sharp seven times, the lawsuit says.

Oldrati fired "without any need to do so, and without legal or other justification," says the suit.

“Only one second thereafter, Oldrati discharged six more shots,” it continues.

It says Sharp’s “moans of pain and suffering could be heard” as the officers told him not to “reach.”

The suit also alleges the officers "began to dishonestly say, for the sake of the recordings being presently made, that (Sharp) had pointed his weapon."

The suit, which also seeks recovery of medical and legal expenses, names Mantua, its police department and Oldrati as defendants.

It contends Mantua wrongly allowed Oldrati to remain in a position to use his weapon "recklessly and in a way likely to lead to illegal harm to others."

The suit says the town had a duty to make sure Oldrati "was further trained and/or educated,” or that he should have been taken off active duty “or put on such duty so that as to not have access to the public with his service weapon."

Oldrati has been on administrative suspension since being charged with manslaughter. The charge is only an allegation, and Oldrati has not been convicted in the case.

A township representative could not be reached for immediate comment on the lawsuit.

The township previously has noted it is cooperating with investigators, but it has said Oldrati fired “operating on the belief that Mr. Sharp was about to fire either at Officer Oldrati or a fellow officer.”

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.