A state grand jury indicted a Woodbridge police sergeant with first-degree aggravated manslaughter after he shot and killed a 35-year-old man last May.
The sergeant, Marco Bruno, fired six shots at Aamir Allen, who was holding a bat at the time. Body-worn camera footage shows Allen standing still more than 10 feet away from Bruno in the moments before the shooting, refusing to put down the baseball bat.
“Every day, law enforcement bears the burden and responsibility of keeping the people of New Jersey safe,” Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a release. “My office is fully committed to prosecuting this charge and ensuring that law enforcement only uses deadly force when lawful and necessary.”
Patrick Caserta, Bruno’s attorney, could not be reached for comment. The grand jury voted to indict Bruno on Monday. Bruno had worked as a police officer in Woodbridge for about 14 years before the shooting, according to a press release.
New Jersey law requires the Attorney General’s Office to investigate all police-related deaths.
Police were dispatched to East Tappen Street in the Port Reading section of Woodbridge shortly after 1 a.m. on May 29, 2025. Multiple 911 calls reported an assault with injuries involving Allen, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Body camera and surveillance footage show a group of about 10 officers following Allen on streets for several minutes as he refused to put the bat down and told officers to shoot him. One officer in the footage appears to have interacted with Allen before — he asked Allen to speak with him and put down the bat. An officer on the radio stated that Allen had hit several occupied vehicles with the bat and asked if someone with a Taser was on the way.
Minutes later, Allen turns around and faces the officers, cocks the bat for a moment, but then holds it in front of him again, more than 10 feet away from the group of officers.
Bruno’s body-worn camera footage shows him arriving at about that moment. The footage shows Bruno moving an officer out of the way to approach Allen, before demanding that he drop the bat several times. Still more than 10 feet away, Allen says, “Nope,” and Bruno fires six shots. Allen was still at that moment and did not move toward Bruno or any other officers immediately before the sergeant began firing.
The footage shows Allen immediately falling to the ground, and other officers begin medical treatment of him within seconds.
“Everybody, slow down,” Bruno said into his radio a minute after he shot Allen. “The suspect is down and under arrest.”
In the seconds before the shooting, an officer is heard asking about a Taser. Before the officer finished his question, Bruno had fired his service weapon.
EMS got Allen to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick at about 1:40 a.m., and he was pronounced dead at 9:21 a.m., according to the Attorney General’s Office.
A conviction of first-degree aggravated manslaughter carries a sentence of 10 to 30 years in prison.
The redacted footage, radio, and 911 calls released by the Attorney General’s Office can be found here. The footage is sensitive.
