Search fatalities

Timothy "Timmy" Quinn Parks

Age : 34

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 11/07/2021

Location : 17 Starlite Hill Road

City : Knowlton Township

County : Warren

State : New Jersey

Agency : New Jersey State Police

Officer(s) :Joselo Machuca, Eduardo Tejada

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during response to car crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 11/07/2021, New Jersey State Police Troopers Joselo Machuca and Eduardo Tejada shot and killed Timothy Quinn Parks, 34, of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, on Starlite Hill Road in the Columbia section of Knowlton Township, Warren County. Troopers responded shortly after 1:30 a.m. to a report of a vehicle that had left the roadway and come to rest with its front end in a ditch. Parks and his dog were inside the vehicle.
.
Body-camera and police-vehicle recordings documented the encounter. Machuca and Tejada approached from opposite sides of Parks' vehicle and attempted to communicate with him. The recordings show Parks remaining in the driver's seat while the troopers repeatedly directed him to keep his hands visible and on the steering wheel.
.
According to the New Jersey Attorney General's investigation, Parks subsequently reached into the vehicle and retrieved a rifle. The troopers ordered him not to touch the gun. Parks then fired the rifle inside the vehicle, fatally shooting his dog. Investigators reported that Parks continued moving the rifle in the direction of Tejada.
.
Machuca and Tejada then opened fire into the vehicle, striking Parks. Parks got out of the vehicle after the gunfire and collapsed nearby. The troopers found that he still had a pulse and began providing emergency medical aid. Parks was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 2:30 a.m.
.
The New Jersey Attorney General's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability investigated the shooting pursuant to the state law requiring independent investigation of deaths occurring during encounters with law enforcement. Investigators obtained witness and trooper interviews, forensic evidence, autopsy findings, two body-worn-camera recordings and recordings from two police-vehicle cameras. The Attorney General publicly released the 911 call and police video after allowing Parks' family to review the recordings.
.
The completed investigation was presented to a state grand jury. On 02/27/2023, the grand jury voted not to file criminal charges against Machuca or Tejada. Evidence presented to the grand jury included the police videos, witness and trooper interviews, forensic evidence and autopsy findings.
.
OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Joselo Machuca and Eduardo Tejada were identified by the New Jersey Attorney General as the two New Jersey State Police troopers who fired at Parks. Both officers' body-worn cameras captured the encounter, and their recorded interviews and other evidence concerning their actions were subsequently presented to the state grand jury, which declined to file criminal charges.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.njoag.gov/ags-office-releases-911-call-and-video-footage-related-to-fatal-police-involved-shooting-in-knowlton-township-on-november-7/
https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/warren-hunterdon/news/nj-troopers-justified-in-shooting-driver-from-poconos-who-shot-dog-grand-jury-rules/857983/
https://www.rlsmedia.com/article/no-charges-filed-nj-police-involved-shooting-killed-pennsylvania-man
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/timothy-parks-poconos-man-shot-new-jersey-police-video/
https://patch.com/new-jersey/hackettstown/fatal-nj-police-shooting-videos-man-who-shot-dog-released
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/timothy-parks-obituary?id=32287152