**UPDATED INFORMATION INCLUDING IDENTITIES OF INJURED AND OFFICERS**

Neptune Township, N.J. – The Attorney General’s Office today released additional information about a police encounter during which a vehicle crash occurred, resulting in the death of a juvenile, 17, of Asbury Park, N.J., and injury to three other vehicle occupants. The crash occurred on June 5, 2022, after two Asbury Park police officers, Scott Ritter and Samuel Griffith, attempted to stop the vehicle. The fatal encounter remains under investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).

According to the preliminary investigation, the car came to rest at 527 Myrtle Avenue in Neptune Township, N.J. shortly after 7:20 p.m. The officers were in the process of attempting to stop a vehicle in connection with an indictable offense investigation. The two officers were investigating the sound of shots fired in the area. When the officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, the vehicle continued to drive for less than a mile until the driver eventually struck a tree. Firearms were recovered near the vehicle.

As a result of the crash, a juvenile occupant died in a nearby hospital on June 6, 2022. One vehicle occupant, Dishawn Bellamy, 32, of Asbury Park, N.J., remains in critical condition and another, Justin M. Mayes-Wiggs, 25, of Neptune, N.J. was charged by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office with various offenses. A fourth vehicle occupant, 15, was also located.

This investigation is being conducted pursuant to Attorney General Directive 2019-4, which implements the statutory requirement that the Attorney General’s Office conduct the investigation of any 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, and which establishes clear standards and procedures for conducting such investigations.

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

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