NJ Grand Jury declines to indict Asbury Park PD officers after fatal 2022 Neptune crash
By: A state grand jury has voted not to file criminal charges at the conclusion of its deliberations regarding the deaths of Dishawn Bellamy, 32, and a 17-year-old male, both from Asbury Park, during a fatal June 5, 2022, crash in Neptune Township, after Bellamy fled from an attempted vehicle stop by Asbury Park police officers.
The deaths were investigated by the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) and presented to New Jersey residents serving on the state grand jury in accordance with the Independent Prosecutor Directive of 2019 (the “Directive”).
Officers Griffeth and Ritter responded to the area of Atkins Avenue and Boston Way in Asbury Park on June 5, 2022, at 7:16 p.m., after hearing gunfire, according to the investigation.
As the officers responded, a Ford Explorer, driven by Bellamy, sped past Officer Ritter’s patrol vehicle.
Officer Ritter recognized Mr. Bellamy, who was known to have an active arrest warrant for a charge of attempted murder.
Officer Ritter radioed to Officer Griffeth to stop the vehicle. Officer Griffeth then followed the Explorer, with Officer Ritter following behind.
Shortly thereafter, the Explorer took off at a high speed. The officers did not match the Explorer’s speed, but did have their emergency lights flashing and trailed the SUV as it left the scene.
The Explorer drove less than a mile before Mr. Bellamy lost control of the vehicle while attempting a left turn, thereby rolling over and ultimately striking a home in Neptune Township.
The vehicle came to rest in a tree-lined area along the side of the home. Approximately 40 seconds elapsed from the time Officer Griffeth radioed that the Explorer was not stopping until the vehicle crashed.
When Mr. Bellamy lost control of the Explorer, it was more than a block away from the police vehicles driven by Officers Ritter and Griffeth.
Police recovered two firearms near the crashed Explorer.
As a result of the crash, the 17-year-old and the driver, Mr. Bellamy, died.
Two other occupants in the vehicle, a 15-year-old male from Asbury Park and a 25-year-old male from Neptune, exited the SUV and started running away.
They were stopped by officers without incident after a short foot pursuit. Neither had significant injuries from the crash.