TRENTON — The Attorney General’s Office today released 911 calls and footage from two surveillance cameras and one mobile video recorder relating to the fatal motor vehicle crash on May 27, 2024, involving Franklin Borough Police Sgt. William Grissom and Deanna D’Arco, 19, from the Borough of Sussex, New Jersey.

The law enforcement encounter is under investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA). The footage is being released pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 designed to promote the fair, impartial, and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters. Investigators previously met with representatives of Ms. D’Arco’s family to review the recordings.

According to the investigation, at approximately 10:41 a.m., Sgt. Grissom, who was on duty and operating a marked police vehicle, was driving southbound on Route 23.  Sgt. Grissom’s vehicle collided with a black Honda Prelude that was exiting the ShopRite parking lot near the intersection of Route 23 and Walsh Street. The collision happened when the Prelude, crossing Route 23, emerged from behind vehicles that were in traffic on the northbound side of the roadway. Sgt. Grissom called in the accident and rendered medical aid to the occupants of the Honda. Ms. D’Arco, who was a front seat passenger in the Honda, sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to Morristown Medical Center for treatment. The Honda’s driver and Sgt. Grissom were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Ms. D’Arco was pronounced deceased at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, May 29, 2024.

The recordings are available here: https://njoag.box.com/s/bfwoui12jvae17i7hod6ee5vraayp6ti

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.

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

Further information about how fatal police encounters are investigated in New Jersey under the Independent Prosecutor Directive is posted on the Attorney General’s website here.

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