Death by Cop- 2022
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Thadius Wilder
Case # :1062
Gender : Male
Age : 31
Race : Black
Date : 08/03/2022
Location : Route 21
City : Passaic
County : Passaic
State : New Jersey
Agency : Passaic PD
Officer(s) :Not Disclosed
Cause of Death : Drowning
Event :
Disposition : No known charges
Open Records Summary :
Thadius Wilder, a 35-year-old father of five from Passaic, was found drowned after last being seen running from police. His sister said that he was sitting on a bench at the Passaic public housing project on Aspen Place when two uniformed officers approached him with an arrest warrant for dealing drugs.
Wilder ran, apparently afraid of going back to prison. Police never searched the river nearby. Wilder’s sister found eyewitnesses who said he had “ended up in the water.” She told police who denied this possibility. Community members searched for him and saw his body floating in the river. The family had to notify police who had refused to search the river. His body was retrieved later but the family had been left to search for him without help from police.