Newton cops won't be charged in fatal shooting of retired Army veteran

Lori Comstock, New Jersey Herald
·3 min read
38

A state grand jury on Monday declined to file criminal charges against two police officers who shot and killed a Newton man after the retired U.S. Army major pointed a handgun at them, the Attorney General's Office announced Thursday.

The officers,Steven Kneidl and Garrett Armstrong, were on duty with the Newton Police Department around 9:40 p.m. on July 4, 2021 when they shot Gulia Dale III, 61, outside his Clive Place home. Dale had allegedly opened the rear driver's side door, leaned inside and closed the door before returning to the driver's seat as officers urged him to get out of the truck and on the ground.

Dale, whose actions were captured on body camera footage released by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, got out of his vehicle and pointed a handgun at officers, prompting the officers to fire their weapons, according to a statement by Attorney General Matthew Platkin. A .45-caliber handgun was found near Dale, police said.

A vigil is held in Newton, NJ on Saturday August 21, 2021 for Gulia Dale III, a U.S. Army veteran who suffered with PTSD and was killed by police outside his Newton home on July 4 of 2021. Dale's widow Karen Dale (right) is comforted by Dale's sister Valerie Cobbertt (center) and daughter Tori Dale.
A vigil is held in Newton, NJ on Saturday August 21, 2021 for Gulia Dale III, a U.S. Army veteran who suffered with PTSD and was killed by police outside his Newton home on July 4 of 2021. Dale's widow Karen Dale (right) is comforted by Dale's sister Valerie Cobbertt (center) and daughter Tori Dale.

Dale's death was investigated by the state Attorney General's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, an arm of the state Attorney General's Office that is tasked with presenting the case to a grand jury. Jurors were presented with evidence gathered by investigators, including witness interviews, forensics, videos and autopsy results, the office stated.

Police were called to the home after Dale's wife, Karen, called 911 to report she feared her husband was suicidal and needed help, she told the New Jersey Herald weeks after the shooting. Karen Dale said she was not sure what had transpired that led to her husband's behavior, but family believed holiday fireworks may have triggered the U.S. Army veteran's post-traumatic stress disorder. Dale, who was slated to retire as an equal opportunity specialist for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon two months after the shooting, had served three tours in Iraq and was deployed on 9/11, his family said.

The incident angered the distressed family, who believed the situation could have been de-escalated had the officers known how to properly engage with someone diagnosed with a mental health disorder, or had called mental health experts to respond.

Valerie Cobbertt, Gulia Dale's sister, voiced the same concern in response to the grand jury's decision this week, telling the New Jersey Herald that the officers "escalated the situation" and failed to follow the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General's 2020-14 directive, which created a statewide framework to address mental health and special needs populations in New Jersey.

Gulia Dale III, of Newton, was a retired U.S. Army major who served three tours in Iraq. On July 4, he was fatally shot by police officers responding to a call to his Clive Place home in Newton.
Gulia Dale III, of Newton, was a retired U.S. Army major who served three tours in Iraq. On July 4, he was fatally shot by police officers responding to a call to his Clive Place home in Newton.

Cobbertt said it was "disappointing" to hear jurors decline to charge the "unseasoned" officers — Armstrong was hired in fall 2020 and Kneidl in 2019 — since that has been the case "for most Black and Brown families in past years."

"The family would like the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey to do a thorough civil rights investigation into the case of my brother," she said.

Dale was given medical aid until first responders arrived and he was pronounced dead around 9:46 p.m., authorities said.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Newton NJ police-involved shooting: cops won't be charged in vet death