Witnesses Say a Newark Cop Shot a Black Man w/‘His Hands Up as He was Backing Away,' Murdering Him. The AG Claims there is No Body/Dash Cam Video but Private Video exists and was Confiscated by Police

THE TEDDY BEAR CODE. WHEN WILL THE NEXT GUNNING DOWN BY COPS TAKE PLACE? SHOULD WE POST UP TEDDY BEARS & CANDLES IN ADVANCE IN CORPORATE POLICE STATE OF RACISM WHITE SUPREMACY? [MORE]

From [HERE] and [HERE] A Black man was killed by a police officer in New Jersey on New Year’s Day under questionable circumstances as officials provide vague reports surrounding the early morning shooting.

Carl Dorsey III was shot in Newark — this much we know. But why exactly Newark Police Department Detective Rod Simpkins shot the 39-year-old has yet to be answered despite multiple press releases from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the shooting.

According to the Newark AntiViolence Coalition, multiple witnesses claim that Dorsey was complying with the police at the time he was shot. Dorsey “had his hands up and was backing away from the officer when he was shot,” a press release from the Newark AntiViolence Coalition said in an email sent to NewsOne.

There was also no indication of whether Dorsey was armed or what type of threat he posed, if any, to justify Simpkins shooting him.

No police body or dash camera footage exists in the fatal shooting of Carl Dorsey III by a Newark detective in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, the state Attorney General’s Office told NJ Advance Media on Friday.

But, there is non-police video footage of the shooting, the office said. That video is being investigated and is not yet being released, authorities said. Most police officers in Newark wear body cameras.

Any recordings authorities have in the Dorsey shooting will be released to the public if requested after the initial phase of the investigation is substantially complete, which is typically within 20 days, the attorney general’s office said.

The Newark AntiViolence Coalition held a vigil and rally on Wednesday at the intersection where Dorsey was killed.

Citing eyewitnesses, a member of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense told vigil and rally attendees that Dorsey was unarmed when he was shot, NJ.com reported.

“He didn’t even stand a chance,” Sharif Amenhotep said.

Court documents obtained by NJ Advance Media reveal some detail about the circumstances around the shooting. A group that was gathered near an intersection where Dorsey, 39, had been shot attempted to flee once police arrived, the records show.

The criminal complaint for a man who was arrested during the same incident made no mention of Dorsey’s shooting, so the exact events surrounding the shooting and Dorsey’s conduct during the incident, remain unclear.

Detective Rod Simpkins, who has been a member of the Newark Police Department for 18 years, fatally shot Dorsey, of South Orange, on Jan. 1, authorities have said. The state Attorney General’s office is handling the investigation but has released few details about what happened.

At least one person, Jamar Murphy, was arrested around 12:15 a.m. near Woodlawn Avenue and South 11th Street where Dorsey was shot, arrest records show. Murphy, 39, of Irvington, faces weapons charges and one count of preventing a law enforcement officer from effectuating an arrest.

Officers were patrolling along Avon Avenue, about one block over from Woodlawn Avenue, when police said they heard gunfire nearby, the complaint against Murphy said.

“The officers then traveled to the area of South 11th Street and Woodland Avenue, Newark, and observed numerous individuals gathering in the area, and saw numerous muzzle flashes,” the criminal complaint said. “As the officers arrived, all the individuals attempted to flee the area.”

A detective that was not Simpkins said he saw a gun on Murphy and identified himself as a law enforcement officer, the complaint said. Murphy then ran away and got rid of the firearm, court records said.

The detective chased Murphy and apprehended him, the court document said. The firearm, a Diamondback DB9, 9mm semi-automatic pistol, was found where police saw Murphy discard it and 9mm shell casings were found at the scene, the complaint said.

The court documents have similarities to what Mayor Ras Baraka released about the shooting hours after the attorney general’s office put out a statement on New Year’s Day confirming the incident.

“Just a few minutes into the New Year, some of our plainclothes Newark police officers arrived at a scene where shots were being fired and an officer fired one round fatally striking someone,” Baraka said at the time. “...Two firearms were also recovered and at least one arrest was made.”

James Stewart, president of the Newark Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 12, previously told NJ Advance Media that officers ran into a “running gunfight between multiple people.”

It’s unclear where the second firearm was recovered, or if Simpkins was in plainclothes.

Simpkins was once the subject of a 2009 lawsuit that was filed by a Newark coach and the parents of two children. The suit was included in the ACLU of New Jersey’s petition to the U.S. Department of Justice that called for an investigation into the Newark Police Department, which eventually led to the city’s current consent decree.

Simpkins and at least four other plainclothes officers were accused of pulling over a Pop Warner football coach in June 2008 while he was driving with a 13-year-old and 15-year-old from the team. The officers allegedly approached them with guns drawn, pulled them out of the car, and told them “you have no f------ rights...we’re the cops, we do whatever we f------ want,” the suit claimed.

Police only found football equipment in the car, the suit said.

The ACLU helped represent the plaintiffs in the case. The lawsuit was eventually settled for an undisclosed amount. [MORE]