TRENTON — The Attorney General’s Office today identified the decedent and the officer involved in a death following a foot pursuit that occurred on November 12, 2024, in Guttenberg, Hudson County, New Jersey. The civilian who died during that encounter has been identified as Brandon Lee Ortega, 26, of Mexia, Texas.

According to the preliminary investigation, at approximately 11:02 p.m. on November 12, 2024, officers from the Guttenberg Police Department responded to 68th Street and Bellevue Avenue after a 911 call was received reporting a disturbance. Officers were provided with a description of the individuals involved in the reported disturbance, including that an individual, later identified as Ortega, was armed with a gun.

Guttenberg Police Officer Brandon Sauerwald located Ortega in the area of 7000 John F. Kennedy Blvd. East and, after a foot chase, Ortega climbed over a railing adjacent to the building and fell to his death over an embankment. Fire department and EMS personnel responded and Ortega was pronounced deceased at the scene. A gun was recovered on Ortega’s person at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.

A 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107(a)(2), requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved.

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