The Attorney General’s Office is conducting an investigation of a police-involved shooting that occurred Jan. 9 in Hillsborough.
One male civilian sustained fatal injuries. The decedent has been identified as Joshua Mathis 19, of Hillsborough, according to updated information provided on Jan. 12.
No one else was injured.
According to the preliminary investigation, at approximately 6:12 p.m. Jan. 9, officers of the Hillsborough Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting a man with a gun at an apartment on Corporal Langon Way, according to updated information provided by the Attorney General’s Office on Jan. 12.
When officers arrived, they encountered Mathis inside the apartment. Mathis was reportedly holding a large knife. Mathis allegedly advanced toward the officers with the knife, according to the statement.
Officer Christopher Michaels fired his service weapon, striking Mathis.
Police and emergency medical personnel rendered first aid, but Mathis was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to the statement.
This investigation is being conducted pursuant to Attorney General Directive 2019-4, which implements the statutory requirement that the Attorney General’s Office conduct the investigation of any death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody, and which establishes clear standards and procedures for conducting such investigations.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time, according to the statement.
This is the second time in a little more than three months that a police-involved shooting occurred in Hillsborough
On Sept. 28, Patrick Chin, 43, who lived at the address where the shooting occurred, sustained fatal injuries. No one else was injured.
According to the preliminary investigation, five uniformed officers of the Hillsborough Township Police Department responded to Chin’s residence on Piedmont Path at approximately 4:10 p.m. Sept. 28 in response to a request that the police check on the welfare of Chin, according to information provided by the A.G.’s office on Oct. 18.
When the officers arrived, they encountered Chin inside the home, holding an approximately three-foot long sword, according to reports.
During the encounter, Officer George Kokinakous fired his service weapon, fatally wounding Chin.
Officers and medical personnel rendered first aid to Chin, who was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 5:28 p.m.
The four other officers of the Hillsborough Township Police Department who were at the scene at the time of the shooting have been identified as Officer Robert Feriello, Officer Thomas Gurba, Officer Kyle Edmonds and Officer Dylan Ely. Feriello deployed OC spray at Chin during the incident, according to reports.
The investigation is ongoing.
