October 9, 2008: Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi, Esq. stated:

"I am here today to announce the Grand Jury's findings and provide you with an investigative overview regarding the events that led to the shooting death of Ruben Walter Martinez of Dover, New Jersey, by Denville Township Police Officer Richard Byrne, on Thursday June 26, 2008.

First and foremost, I want to again extend my condolences to the Martinez family for the loss of a loved one who, regardless of whatever legal happenings occur, will forever be impacted by this tragic situation.

I want to thank the Martinez family attorneys Mr. Darryl Saunders Esq. and Scott Leonard, Esq. with whom we have actively consulted during this investigation, Chief Christopher Wagner and members of the Denville Township Police Department, the community, and the media for their patience while this incident has been under investigation.

At the outset, I realize that in a case of this nature there are no winners or persons who can claim victory. The fact is that a tragic loss of life has occurred and for that there is no turning back or replays allowed. I also realize that regardless of the outcome of this proceeding, there will be those who will agree with the results and those who do not. That is to be expected.

I wish to express my sentiments about the manner with which this matter has proceeded. From the outset, I assured all parties with competing interests that this Office would be deaf to the chants and clamor of any party that attempted to place pressure upon this Office to be swayed one way or the other. I promised that we would fairly, dispassionately and deliberately gather, analyze and prepare this matter with one guiding principle, and that is to determine the truth in an impartial manner and to follow the law undauntingly without any partisan interest whatsoever. We have done just that.

A case of this nature is never easy, especially for a prosecutor's office. We very well realize that in the balance is the loss of life of another human being, as well as the possibility that if the shooting were unjustified, that an officer would face charges that could place him in jail for the rest of his life. I had instructed my staff to allow such weighty matters to be resolved by simply doing the best that they could to determine the facts, and to be concerned only with getting to the truth and to not be persuaded by sympathy, prejudice and/or bias for any partisan interest. I thank my clerical, investigative and attorney staff for a job well done in an admittedly difficult situation. They acted admirably, tirelessly, and unflinchingly and I am proud of what they have done. A special thanks go to my detectives in the Major crimes Unit, lead by Lieutenant Steve Wilson and Case Detective Robert McNally, as well as, Major Crimes Supervising attorney Les Wade, Executive Assistant Prosecutor Robert Lane and Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Connor all of whom presented this case to the Grand Jury. These career prosecutors, recognized in the legal community for their skill and ethics and who represent the best legal staff that this office has to offer. All worked together in a team effort that was quite impressive, professional and exhaustive. They took their roles in this matter very seriously and allowed the facts to be their only guide on how to proceed. I put our best team together as this case deserved nothing less.

The circumstances of this matter were as extremely tragic as the life of a young man was ended. But, despite this tragedy, the legal principles are fairly straight forward. The only question to resolve is whether given all of the circumstances of this encounter, the deadly force employed by Officer Byrne was justifiable defense of himself or others from imminent risk of serious bodily injury or death. If it is accepted that Officer Byrne or members of the community were in danger of such injury or death, than he was justified in using deadly force to eliminate that risk.

After hearing from witnesses and considering the evidence, the Special Grand Jury, consisting of 23 men and women, empanelled by the Morris County Assignment Judge for the sole purpose of hearing this matter, voted not to indict Officer Byrne for any violation of the New Jersey criminal code. They acted, not as an arm of the prosecutor's office, but as an independent investigative body. Their proceedings are by law secret and may not be disclosed, except their ultimate findings.

Until today, the limited release of information to the media and public has allowed the Morris County Prosecutor's Office to conduct a thorough, independent and objective investigation.

We had an obligation to ensure that the facts and circumstances of the event were secured without the possibility that witnesses were affected by the premature release of information that was unverified, or had the potential to compromise our ability to obtain the sworn statements of the witnesses, or have a Grand Jury that could be tainted by formulating premature conclusions that are based upon incomplete facts.

This would have been a disservice to Mr. Martinez and his family, as well as Officer Byrne and his family; all of whom were entitled to an investigation that was untainted, accurate and fair.

I have stated on numerous occasions throughout this investigation that I would not rush to judgment until all of the facts available were gathered and analyzed. This is the hallmark of handling the matter in a way that ensured that we did not jump to conclusions on partial and possibly inaccurate data.

I have personally handled the oversight of this matter since its inception and have been involved in the legal oversight of this matter to the Grand Jury as well.

I realize that I have a duty to the community to share all the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Martinez and I am prepared to do that today.

As I stated earlier, after a comprehensive review of this case, the Grand Jury decided not to indict for any violation of the criminal code.

The investigation and legal analysis were broken down into five distinct areas of consideration:

1. The facts of the shooting.

2. Evaluation of the scene and all related facts and evidence.

3. The law on use of force and the Attorney General guidelines.

4. A review of Denville police records.

5. Forensic evaluations of experts.

Here is what our investigation revealed:

On Thursday June 26, 2008 at approximately 2:14 am, Officer Richard Byrne of the Denville Township Police Department was on duty, assigned to District 1, which covers Route 46 in the Township of Denville.

Officer Daniel Fernandez was on duty, assigned to District 2, which covers Route 10 in Denville Township.

Officer Byrne and Officer Daniel Fernandez were both located at Denville Township Police Headquarters, when a third officer, (Officer Tobin) provided information over his police radio reporting a vehicle, which was later determined to be operated by Mr. Martinez, was traveling north at 57 mph on Franklin Road. Franklin Road is a 25 mph zone.

Officer Byrne exited police headquarters onto Savage Road and approached the intersection of Route 46 and Franklin Road.

Most of this incident was captured on the 2 officers' Motor Vehicle Data Recorders(MVR). Those recordings showed that Officer Byrne encountered the Martinez vehicle at the Franklin Road/Route 46 intersection directly across from Officer Byrne's location. The Martinez vehicle was observed making a right hand turn from Franklin Road onto Route 46 East. This turn was made in violation of the posted sign indicating that right turns at the red light were prohibited.

Officer Byrne made a left-hand turn onto Route 46 East and pulled behind the Martinez vehicle, which was a 2001 Ford Mustang GT Bullitt with Texas registration.

Officer Byrne activated his emergency lights and attempted to effectuate a motor vehicle stop in the area of Franklin Road and Route 46 East.

Officer Fernandez activated his emergency lights, following Officer Byrne.

Instead of stopping as required by New Jersey Law, Mr. Martinez immediately accelerated, increased speed and turned right onto Legion Place.

Officer Byrne notified headquarters that the vehicle was fleeing.

Officer Byrne continued to follow the vehicle providing his headquarters with the vehicle's location during its flight. At this point in time Officer Byrne's MVR recorded that his police vehicle was traveling between 38-47 mph, in a 25 mph zone.

Mr. Martinez's vehicle turned right onto Augusta Street, where he disregarded the stop sign. The vehicle then turned right onto Franklin Road again disregarding a stop sign, whereupon Mr. Martinez lost control of the vehicle.

Mr. Martinez's vehicle spun out and was facing in a south-easterly direction, partially on the road and partially on the sidewalk. The vehicle's excessive speed combined with its not stopping at the intersection and attempting to make a right angled turn caused the vehicle to spin out.

The distance traveled from the point when Officer Byrne observed the Martinez vehicle to the initial stop was 3/10th of a mile.

Officer Byrne pulled up in front of Martinez's vehicle and approached the vehicle on the passenger's side with his weapon drawn.

It should be noted that the video clearly depicts Officer Byrne with his right index finger outside the trigger guard of the weapon. It should also be noted that the pulling of his weapon, as well as his finger on the outside of the trigger guard, complies with his police training whereupon he attempted to get a suspect to submit by the show of force, but not having reason to use deadly force at that time, kept his finger outside of the trigger guard to protect from accidental discharge.

Officer Byrne opened the passenger side door and gave verbal commands to Mr. Martinez to get out of the car.

Mr. Martinez did not respond or acknowledge Officer Byrne or his commands. Instead, Mr. Martinez can clearly be shown on the video attempting to restart and shift his car in an attempt to flee from the scene.

Officer Byrne saw that Mr. Martinez was not in possession of a weapon since he could see his hands, and attempted to stop Mr. Martinez's vehicle from fleeing.

During this encounter, Officer Byrne re-holstered his weapon while he continued to give verbal commands to Mr. Martinez to exit his vehicle, which were not complied with. The reholstering of his weapon was also in compliance with his training as again he did not have the right to use deadly force at that time, and his attempts to use his gun to get Mr. Martinez to submit to arrest had failed.

While the vehicle door was open, Officer Byrne had his shoulder in the area of the door frame, and was bent over ordering Mr. Martinez out of the vehicle. While Officer Byrne was still partially outside the Martinez vehicle, the engine revved and the car lunged forward. Simultaneously, Officer Byrne made the split second decision as to what to do and he decided to reach into the Martinez vehicle attempting to disable it and shut the vehicle off. Mr. Martinez attempted to drive the vehicle and the vehicle lunged forward again.

Officer Byrne knelt into the vehicle in an attempt to stop Mr. Martinez for the safety of the public and he struggled with him. Officer Byrne also noted that he smelled the odor of an alcohol beverage, which was later confirmed by toxicology reports that will be discussed later.

Officer Fernandez approached the driver's side of the Martinez vehicle and attempted to physically restrain Mr. Martinez, grabbing his head and hitting it repeatedly on the door frame of the vehicle. Please note that the autopsy report described the head of Mr. Martinez as being "atraumatic" which means without any trauma or injury.

As a result of Officer Fernandez's actions, Mr. Martinez loosened his grip on the steering wheel and took his hands off the wheel. At that point, Officer Byrne directed Officer Fernandez to release his grip and/or hold on to Mr. Martinez because he believed that Mr. Martinez was going to be compliant. When Officer Fernandez let go, Mr. Martinez immediately placed the vehicle in gear and the vehicle again abruptly lunged forward.

Despite the physical efforts of both Officers Byrne and Fernandez, Mr. Martinez was successful in placing the vehicle in gear.

Officer Byrne attempted to get the vehicle out of gear and get the keys out of the ignition, but he was unsuccessful in his attempts.

The vehicle then lunged forward and backward. Eventually, the vehicle lunged forward and accelerated at a great speed, causing the passenger door to hit Officer Byrne's vehicle, slamming Mr. Martinez's passenger door shut. As you will see, Officer Byrne fortuitously was able to move his legs into Mr. Martinez's car. This prevented Officer Byrne from being trapped between the Mustang and the patrol vehicle. This flight from police had now turned into resisting arrest, aggravated assault upon an officer, and easily could have killed Officer Byrne, but for a split second reaction of pulling his legs into the car prior to the door shutting.

Officer Byrne was now, however, trapped within the vehicle as Mr. Martinez departed at a high rate of speed, first driving on the sidewalk and then on the wrong side of the road while greatly increasing his speed which will be discussed later. Mr. Martinez's actions now escalated into kidnapping of a police officer.

Officer Fernandez ran back to his patrol vehicle, and radioed for backup while following the route of Mr. Martinez.

Officer Byrne continued to yell verbal commands to Mr. Martinez, ordering him to stop the vehicle as he accelerated and increased speed rapidly.

It should be noted that due to Officer Byrne being trapped in the Martinez vehicle, the MVR lost audio reception since Officer Byrne was separated from his patrol vehicle.

Mr. Martinez failed to comply with commands to stop the vehicle and shifted through the vehicle gears while accelerating. It should be noted that Mr. Martinez was driving a high performance Mustang and was a mechanic by trade. The mustang came to final rest in 4th gear. It was later determined that Mr. Martinez was driving while on the suspended list in New Jersey.

Mr. Martinez failed to look at Officer Byrne in response to all of his communication and attempts to have him stop the vehicle. Officer Byrne described Mr. Martinez's response as "a blank stare."

The vehicle was accelerating at such a high rate of speed that within seconds Officer Byrne believed that he was not going to survive this incident. He feared that the driver would hit another vehicle, killing other people and himself. The Martinez vehicle reached speeds in excess of 80 mph.

Officer Byrne thought to himself, "I'm going to die, I'm going to die tonight."

At that point, Officer Byrne pulled out his service weapon and gave a final order to Mr. Martinez to stop the vehicle. Mr. Martinez failed to comply.

Fearing for his life, Officer Byrne discharged five rounds, all of which struck Mr. Martinez. Forensic evidence indicates that these rounds were in all probability fired within 2 seconds.

One of the five shots struck his heart and was determined by two forensic pathologists to be the fatal shot.

At that point, the Martinez vehicle veered left and left the roadway, traveling at an estimated speed of 89 mph. The vehicle hit the curb and went airborne for approximately 24 feet before landing. The vehicle then travelled approximately 25 feet and struck a concrete block retaining wall. The vehicle pushed through the wall and struck an above ground pool.

The investigation revealed that shots were likely discharged between Forest Trail, when the Martinez vehicle was traveling at an approximate speed of 75 mph, which was 7.5 seconds into the incident, and Fernwood Trail, where the vehicle was traveling at approximately 89 mph which was 9.5 seconds into the incident. Hence, the vehicle was increasing speed at a rate of 14 mph in 2 seconds.

After all 5 shots, Officer Byrne holstered his weapon and braced himself for impact.

Although injured, Officer Byrne was able to exit the vehicle, called police headquarters on his radio, and requested medical aid for Mr. Martinez.

Mr. Martinez was treated at the scene by rescue and paramedic personnel.

Mr. Martinez was transported to St. Clare's Hospital in Denville, where he was pronounced dead at 2:55 am.

Officer Byrne was also transported to St. Clare's Hospital where he was treated for a shoulder injury sustained in this incident. He was treated and released.

Various pieces of evidence were recovered at the scene which included the location of the initial encounter with Officers Byrne and Fernandez, as well as the route that was traveled by Mr. Martinez until the point where the vehicle went off the roadway, crashed and came to its final resting point.

More than 100 statements have been taken from Denville residents, EMS, Fire and members of the Denville Township Police Department.

Interviews were conducted of individuals who were associated with Mr. Martinez, as well as those who were with him on the evening and early morning hours prior to this incident.

The scene exam was handled by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Accident Reconstruction Unit and the Morris County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Section.

The New Jersey State Police Laboratory assisted with the forensic review and evaluation of evidence. The laboratory analysis consisted of the following:

Stippling tests
Ballistic tests
Gun powder residue tests
DNA analysis

An expert from the New Jersey State Police also provided expert testimony in the area of Blood Spatter analysis.

On June 26, 2008, Dr. Carlos A. Fonseca, Morris County Deputy Medical Examiner, conducted an autopsy of Mr. Martinez. Dr. Fonseca noted the following:

1. Gunshot wound of right upper back
2. Gunshot wound of back of right arm
3. Gunshot wound of interior chest
4. Gunshot wound of right flank
5. Gunshot wound right lower quadrant of abdomen

Dr. Fonseca determined:

Cause of death- multiple gun shot wounds

The results of the toxicology analysis was positive for alcohol (0.16%), twice the legal limit in New Jersey.

Positive for Cannabinoids (THC) - marijuana

In addition to the services of Deputy Morris County Medical Examiner Dr. Carlos Fonseca, I hired Dr. John E. Pless from Indiana. Dr. Pless was hired by me due to his extensive expertise and background in forensic pathology as well as his specific expertise in the area of police shooting cases and cases where persons have died in police custody.

Dr. Pless determined that the physical evidence, injuries and wound pattern sustained by Mr. Martinez in this case were entirely consistent with the account reported by Officer Byrne.

As I stated previously, the issue to be determined by the Grand Jury was whether Officer Byrne shot Mr. Martinez in self defense from actions that constituted an imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death to himself or others. Common sense dictates that a vehicle reaching speeds with unrestrained persons of upwards of 80-90 mph and 55-65 mph over the speed limit in a residential area poses a risk of serious injury and likely death.

While we all wish this matter had never occurred, my sworn oath is to fairly assess the actions of this nature and be guided by the facts and law only. That is what has been done, nothing more and nothing less. The Grand Jury has spoken and this matter now turns to the process of healing from an otherwise unalterable tragedy. Again, my condolences are offered to the Martinez family."