No Charges for State Troopers in Death of Man in Custody
A grand jury in New Jersey has declined to return any indictments in connection with the death of a Camden County man who died while in State Police custody.
December 28, 2017 at 02:29 PM
4 minute read
A grand jury in New Jersey has declined to return any indictments in connection with the death of a Camden County man who died while in State Police custody after being stopped on the Atlantic City Expressway and arrested on a drug charge.
Marshall Zamor, 39, of Sicklerville, died last March 29. Zamor died about an hour and a half after being placed in a holding cell, according to a timeline released by the Attorney General's Office. An autopsy found a plastic bag lodged in his larynx and a piece of crack cocaine in his trachea, the office said.
Zamor's death sparked protests, led by his family and the Camden chapter of Black Lives Matter, who complained that the State Police refused to release to the family details behind the incident.
The grand jury on Dec. 14 voted to return no indictments against any of the five unidentified troopers involved, but that decision wasn't made public for two weeks.
Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for Attorney General Christopher Porrino, said it is office policy to delay making a public announcement until after office representatives can consult with the family, and that did not occur until Dec. 28.
Porrino, according to Aseltine, would have no comment on the grand jury's decision.
Neither the family's attorney, Louis Barbone of Jacobs & Barbone in Atlantic City, nor representatives from Black Lives Matter responded to requests for comment. Attempts to reach Zamor's family were unsuccessful.
Because the death occurred after Zamor was arrested and while he was in police custody, it was investigated by the Attorney General's Shooting Response Team.
On the day of his death, Zamor was stopped on the expressway at 10:52 a.m. because the windows of his vehicle had illegal tinting, according to the office's statement. The trooper making the stop allegedly smelled marijuana and requested backup. Zamor was repeatedly ordered out of his car, and after refusing to obey the orders for several minutes, finally exited the vehicle and was arrested, the statement said.
The trooper walked Zamor to the rear of his car, handcuffed his hands behind his back, and searched him, but no force was used by the trooper, the statement said. A search of the car allegedly revealed two suspected marijuana blunts. Zamor was brought to the Atlantic City Expressway State Police Station, where he was placed in a holding cell pending processing on the charge of possession of marijuana, the statement said.
Video footage from the police vehicle revealed that Zamor was chewing on something while being handcuffed and transported, the statement said. At one point, a small white object could be seen inside Zamor's mouth, and at another point, he leaned forward and left a streak of saliva on the partition in the vehicle, which later tested positive for cocaine, it said.
Zamor was placed in a holding cell at the station at 11:34 a.m. Before he was placed in the cell, the trooper who arrested him searched him again, the statement said.
Several minutes later, troopers saw that Zamor had a large bulge in his cheek, the statement said, adding that Zamor refused to open his mouth as ordered. Two troopers tried unsuccessfully to open Zamor's mouth, and three other troopers entered the cell to assist, but their efforts failed as well, the statement said.
“While the troopers were forceful in holding Zamor, no punches, strikes or kicks were used against him,” the statement said.
Around noon, Zamor began convulsing and lost consciousness, and emergency medical services responded.
An unsuccessful attempt was made to revive Zamor with a defibrillator, and at approximately 12:09 p.m., two troopers commenced CPR compressions and breathing. They continued CPR until emergency medical personnel arrived and took over. Zamor was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Pomona, where he was pronounced dead at 1:13 p.m., the statement said.
The Medical Examiner's Office concluded that Zamor's death was caused by cocaine intoxication and listed airway obstruction as a contributory factor, according to the office. The manner of death was ruled accidental, the statement said.
Zamor was married and had three children, according to an obituary.
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