BRICK – After an investigation into the use of lethal force, the Office of the Attorney General and Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato have determined that Brick officers were justified in shooting and killing Keshawn Wilson, who was firing at them.
According to police, they responded to a call at 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 20. They received a number of 911 calls about an assault at 141 Meridian Drive. One of the callers said that the attacker had a gun and that members of the household had barricaded themselves into a bedroom. One resident was able to jump out a window and run for help.
Officers Anthony Chadwick, Richard Zimmerer, and Ryan Osborn arrived, as did Sgt. Donald Smith. They approached the home behind a bullet-proof shield.
Keshawn Wilson was standing at the side door with a handgun. He fired at the officers, who returned fire.
A neighbor’s testimony matched that of the police. She described the subject pointing the gun at police while officers yelled “Drop the gun!” several times.
After Wilson was down, Smith called for the Brick Police Special Emergency Response Team to make sure there were no other threats in the house. The team escorted the family out. Two household members were brought to Ocean Medical Center Hospital for injuries caused by Wilson.
The Ocean County Sheriff’s Criminalistics Unit (OCSD) retrieved Wilson’s gun, a black Rohm .38 Special revolver. Inside the revolver was one .38 Special discharged shell and four .38 Special full metal jacketed bullet cartridges within the cylinders.
They also discovered an item wedged under the firing pin of the revolver which turned out to be a clear gelatin capsule used to contain medication. They found another in his pocket.
The investigation determined that the capsule caused the gun to not fire all of the rounds, even when the trigger was pulled. Four bullets in the gun had marks as if the gun tried to fire them, but did not have the impact necessary to do so.
