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Footage released Saylorsburg man’s shooting death

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has released a 911 call and video footage from two body cameras worn and two mobile video recorders in police vehicles that relate to the fatal police shooting of a Saylorsburg man on Nov. 7.

Timothy Parks, 34, died in the incident in which police were investigating a crash that happened in Knowlton Township.

The recordings are posted online at https://bit.ly/3rH18No.

In a press release issued Monday, the attorney general’s office said the fatal shooting remains under investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability and that the recordings are being released according to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 that are designed to promote the fair, impartial and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters.

While saying the investigation is ongoing and no further information will be released at this time, the AG’s office did provide details of the preliminary investigating of Parks’ death.

It said New Jersey State Police Troopers Joselo Machuca and Eduardo Tejada responded to a crash on Starlite Hill Road in Knowlton Township. Shortly after 1:30 a.m., the troopers approached a vehicle that was stopped with the front end in a ditch. The vehicle was occupied by Parks and a dog.

While the troopers were attempting to communicate with Parks, he fired a weapon from within the vehicle and shot the dog. Machuca and Tejada then fired their weapons into the vehicle, fatally wounding Parks. Troopers and medical personnel rendered first aid to Parks, who was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 2:30 a.m.

This investigation is being conducted pursuant to a New Jersey law enacted in January 2019, which requires the Attorney General’s Office conduct all 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.

Separately, the Independent Prosecutor Directive, which was issued in December 2019, outlines a 10-step process for conducting these investigations. When the entire investigation is complete, the case will be presented to a grand jury, typically consisting of 16 to 23 citizens, to make the ultimate decision regarding whether criminal charges will be filed.