A man who it is suspected had been abusing his wife was shot to death by two police officers when they arrived at his home to break up a reported fight. Law enforcement officers had been called to the scene of the man’s Truckerton residence to respond to a domestic violence incident that was occurring between the 35-year-old man and his girlfriend.

When police arrived at the man’s home, he came at the officers brandishing a large knife that looked like a butcher’s cleaver. Two officers fired on the man and fatally wounded him.

Witnesses on the scene heard reported hearing six shots fired. One witness said she clearly heard the officers warn the man to stop before they discharged their weapons.

After the incident, both officers and the domestic abuse victim were taken to a local hospital to be treated. All three were treated and sent home.

An investigation into the shooting is being organized to determine whether the two officers should have fired on the man. Both officers involved in the incident had been on the force for longer than five years. They have now been placed on administrative leave, which is standard practice when officers are involved in an incident that resulted in the use of deadly force.

The deceased man had previously spent nine years in jail for his criminal convictions, in the first of which occurred in 2000. The woman involved in this incident is his ex-wife. Though the two were divorced, they continued to live with each other and have three children together.

Source: Ashbury Park Press, “Tuckerton man killed by police served time for assaulting, eluding police,” Charles Webster and Paula Scully, Sept. 17, 2011