The Attorney General’s Office in New Jersey released shocking footage of a fatal police shooting involving a suspect who, authorities say, was operating a backhoe and ramming the construction vehicle into cars and homes last month.
Warning: this article contains distressing content. Reader discretion is advised.
Officers with the Vineland Police Department encountered the backhoe driver, identified as 20-year-old Joshua Gonzalez of Millville, at approximately 5:00 a.m. on December 18, according to a press release from the Attorney General Andrew Bruck’s office, which cites a preliminary investigation. Officers worked for roughly half an hour to stop him as he “caused extensive damage to several residences and vehicles, including three police cars, an ambulance, and an occupied civilian vehicle,” the January 13 release states.
Watch Below:
When the chaos began, one man called 911 from a business at the request of his boss.
“Yeah, a backhoe came flying in our parking lot and hit a car, and then that car hit another car next to it, and it looks like the driver drove off,” the man said.
A short time later, the man reported the backhoe was headed back to the parking lot.
“He’s coming at the door, it looks like, with the backhoe,” he stated.
“So he’s trying to hit the building?” the 911 operator asked.
“That’s what it looks like. Everyone just ran inside,” the caller said. “I don’t know what this guy’s doing.”
After officers were dispatched to the area of West Park Drive and tried to stop the suspect for some time, a sergeant with the police department fatally shot Gonzalez, according to the attorney general’s release:
While the officers were attempting to stop Mr. Gonzalez, Sgt. Louis Platania of the Vineland Police Department fired his weapon, fatally wounding Mr. Gonzalez. Medical aid was rendered by officers and emergency medical personnel. Mr. Gonzalez was pronounced deceased at the scene at approximately 5:48 a.m.
Warning: The video below shows the fatal shooting. Viewer discretion is advised:
Body-cam footage shows Platania running towards a culdesac that the backhoe was located on, before getting close to the vehicle and lifting his firearm. The video then shows he allegedly opened fire on Gonzalez, blowing out the windows of the backhoe. The vehicle continues to move, veering to the left before it strikes a tree and comes to a stop.
“Fuck,” Platania bellowed after the backhoe ceased to move.
He then entered the vehicle, and his body-cam footage shows Gonzales slumped over to the right side of the cabin.
“It’s okay, Louis. We gotta do what we gotta do,” another officer tells Platania.
The fatal shooting is being investigated by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), according to the attorney general’s office.
The release states:
The recordings are being released in response to an OPRA request and pursuant 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. Investigators met today with Mr. Gonzalez’s family to review the recordings.
Authorities met with Gonzalez’s family to review the footage on Thursday. All videos of the incident, including four from “body worn cameras, two civilian cell-phones, and two residential surveillance cameras,” in addition to two 911 calls, are available to the public here.
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