Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Tracee Jahlees Marie Blount
Age : 38
Gender : Female
Race : Black
Date : 08/14/2023
Location : Intersection of MacArthur Avenue and Elmwood Avenue
City : Long Branch
County : Monmouth
State : New Jersey
Agency : Long Branch Police Department
Officer(s) :Lucas Brito
Cause of Death : Vehicle
Event : Killed by police chase crash
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 08/14/2023, at approximately 3:59 a.m., Long Branch Police Department officers responded to a 911 report of an armed home invasion on Elmwood Avenue. A marked police SUV driven by Patrolman Lucas Brito was traveling to the call with emergency lights and siren activated. At the same time, a BMW believed to be leaving the reported break-in entered the intersection of MacArthur Avenue and Elmwood Avenue. The BMW was driven by 46-year-old Altonia Williams, and 38-year-old Tracee Blount was riding in the front passenger seat.
Officer Brito's patrol vehicle collided with the BMW in the intersection. The impact caused catastrophic damage to both vehicles. Blount suffered critical injuries and was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where she was pronounced dead at approximately 7:12 a.m. Williams was taken into custody and transported to the same hospital for treatment. Officer Brito also sustained injuries and was treated and released.
Under New Jersey law, the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) in the Attorney General's Office assumed responsibility for the investigation because the death occurred during an encounter involving a law enforcement officer. Investigators reviewed witness statements, physical evidence, autopsy findings, police radio transmissions, dashboard-camera video, body-worn camera recordings, and 911 calls. On 10/03/2023, the Attorney General publicly released the videos and audio recordings after first providing them to Blount's family.
The investigation determined that Officer Brito was responding to an emergency call when the collision occurred. The evidence was presented to a New Jersey state grand jury as required by state law. On 02/05/2024, the grand jury returned a "no bill," declining to indict Officer Lucas Brito on any criminal charge arising from the collision. The Attorney General announced that no criminal charges would be filed against him.
Altonia Williams was identified as a participant in the reported home invasion and was taken into custody following the collision. The publicly available records reviewed through August 2026 do not indicate that Blount's estate obtained a civil settlement or wrongful-death judgment against Long Branch, Officer Brito, or the State of New Jersey.
Dashboard-camera footage from Officer Brito's patrol vehicle, body-camera footage, police radio traffic, and 911 recordings were publicly released by the Attorney General's Office as part of New Jersey's police transparency policy.
