Grand Jury declines charges against officer after a fatal motorcycle crash in Secaucus
By: -----
The deliberations were regarding the death of Reymis Geronimo-Segura, 28, of North during an encounter on August 16, 2023, with a Hudson County Sheriff’s officer in Secaucus, which HCV first reported was part of an attempted traffic stop.
After hearing the testimony and evidence, the grand jury concluded its deliberations and voted “no bill,” concluding no criminal charges should be filed against Hudson County Sheriff’s Officer Andrew Conti, Jr., the of Undersheriff Andrew Conti.
According to the investigation, on August 16th, 2023, Conti was in a marked K-9 police vehicle attempting to stop a motorcycle, operated by Geronimo-Segura, for motor vehicle violations.
The officer observed the motorcycle in the area of Paul Amico Way and Seaview Drive. The officer followed the motorcycle on County Avenue traveling northbound with his lights and sirens activated in an attempt to effectuate a motor vehicle stop.
Conti caught up to Geronimo-Segura when his motorcycle got behind a tractor-trailer. The motorcycle then passed the truck on the right side. The officer remained behind the truck as the motorcycle continued around the truck northbound on County Avenue.
At this tine, Conti radioed to dispatch that he would not be pursuing the motorcyclist.
Seconds later, the motorcycle crashed into a white SUV on County Avenue as the SUV was pulling out of a cross street, Charles Street. Conti continued without his lights or sirens activated and observed the crash scene.
He got out of his vehicle and approached Geronimo-Segura, who had been ejected from the motorcycle during the collision, prompting Conti to call for medical attention.
Geronimo-Segura was transported to Jersey City Medical Center, where lifesaving efforts were performed unsuccessfully. He was pronounced dead at approximately 1:13 p.m. The other civilians involved in the collision sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Video recordings capturing the events surrounding the fatality have been released today, pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 to promote the fair, impartial, and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters.
Investigators previously met with representatives of Geronimo-Segura’s family to review the recordings.
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.
The grand jury is instructed on the elements of the potential criminal offenses that could be brought and, as required by statutes, on forms of legal justification.
A conflicts check was conducted pursuant to the Independent Prosecutor Directive, and no actual or potential conflict of interest was found involving any individual assigned to the investigation.
Prior to presentation to the grand jury, the investigation was reviewed by OPIA Executive Director Drew Skinner in accordance with the policies and procedures established for these presentations in the SOPs.