CJ Griffin Appears on News 12 Discussing Police Accountability
CJ Griffin, partner and director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, appeared on News 12 in the “Kane in Your Corner” segment, and was quoted in the News 12 article “Grand jury declines to file charges against police officers who shot motorist in New Jersey.” The segment and article address the grand jury decision to not charge police officers involved in a 2020 shooting of a motorist in Bloomfield. The motorist had been charged with striking two police officers with his car, but “Kane in Your Corner” obtained video that showed the motorist did not strike anyone; the police later admitted the original charges were inaccurate.
Because grand jury testimony is generally kept secret under New Jersey law, there’s usually no way to know what evidence jurors were presented with. But Kane In Your Corner obtained a copy of the testimony in Sutton’s grand jury. The Bloomfield Police detective who wrote the original charges testified in that hearing as well. In sworn testimony that Sellitti and Griffin both call “highly unusual,” he said the reason he wrongly claimed Sutton struck and injured officers was that he wrote the charges without speaking to the officers involved.
“The old adage is that a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich,” says attorney C.J. Griffin. “But for whatever reason, when it comes to investigations of police shootings, they can never obtain an indictment.”
“Unfortunately, these proceedings are completely secret. We should be able to know how the case was presented, who presented it, what evidence did they hear, what testimony did they hear, what charges were pursued.”
To view the interview and article, click here.