Keith Day
Two Trenton Police officers involved in a 2013 non-fatal shooting have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the county prosecutor’s office, and the case will not be presented to a grand jury.
The shooting happened around 11:45 p.m. on July 14, 2013. According to a report released by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, police were dispatched to Hudson Street to investigate shots reportedly fired in the area. When the two officers arrived, the report states, they say a man, later identified as Keith Day, standing outside of a red Toyota Corolla, which was parked at a 45-degree angle at the intersection of Hudson and Tyler streets.
The report says the officers heard a gunshot and saw the muzzle flash of a weapon that was fired near a group of people who were standing in front of a nearby house. The officers then jumped out of their patrol car, and one of them noticed Day had a gun in his hand. The report says one officer ordered Day to drop the gun, but was ignored. That officer told investigators he heard two more gunshots and saw a muzzle flash from Day’s gun, which was pointed at the other officer.
The second officer, who had ducked behind a tree, reported seeing Day hop into the Corolla and then raise both hands as if he was firing a gun. That officer also said Day was pointing a dark-colored handgun in the direction of the first officer.
When asked via email whether Day had two guns during the shooting, a spokesperson from the county prosecutor’s office replied, “I don’t have that answer.”
Both officers reported that Day drove the Corolla in their direction, and one further stated that Day continued to point the gun in his direction as he drove toward him. The second officer said he fired two shots into the driver’s side of the Corolla. The first officer reportedly fired three shots.
Day continued driving after being shot by police, and he later walked into Lourdes Hospital in Willingboro seeking treatment for gunshots wounds.
The report says formal statements were taken from Day, his girlfriend and both TPD officers. The prosecutor’s office concluded that both officers acted to protect themselves and each other, and used an acceptable level of force. The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General agreed with the findings. The names of the officers involved in the shooting have not been released.
Day, of Franklinville, was murdered in May 2014. He was found lying on an East Hanover Street sidewalk suffering from multiple gunshots wounds; he later died at the hospital. To date, no suspects have been arrested in connection with Day’s death.