Two Paterson police officers will not face charges in the death of a man they handcuffed shortly after he was apparently injured while leaping across residential rooftops, a state grand jury has determined.
The fatal encounter occurred about 5:25 p.m. on Oct. 2, 2021, when police received two 911 calls reporting a man in pajamas jumping between roofs. He had also broken a window to gain entry to a home in the 600 block of Madison Avenue, authorities said.
The officers found Jose Gonzalez, 41, lying on the ground behind a home “with visible cuts and blood on his hands and arms,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement on Monday.
Platkin said the officers called for medical help, but that for the next 12 minutes Gonzalez flailed his arms, spoke incoherently, hit himself in the chest and face, and punched the outside of the home.
Gonzalez also opened a rear basement door to a home and stumbled inside before the officers, Sgt. Angelo Gencarelli and Officer Rocco Galiano, removed Gonzalez and handcuffed him so that emergency medical technicians could render aid, Platkin said.
Emergency workers transported Gonzalez to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, the attorney general said.
An autopsy later determined Gonzalez died of acute drug toxicity and that the manner of death was accidental, Platkin said.
The man’s death was first investigated by the state’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability and presented to a grand jury made up of New Jersey residents over the summer.
Platkin said the grand jury concluded deliberations on Nov. 14 determined no charges should be filed against either officer.
The grand jury considered evidence that included testimony from the OPIA investigation, and legal instructions to help determine whether the officers’ actions were responsible for Gonzalez’s death, Platkin said.
A 2019 law requires the Office of the Attorney General to conduct all investigations of deaths that occur during encounters with law enforcement officers acting in official capacities or while the decedents are in custody.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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