Topline: A New Jersey state grand jury has indicted a Woodbridge police sergeant on an aggravated manslaughter charge in the fatal 2025 shooting of Aamir Allen.
Published: April 15, 2026 8:30 am ET
Randy Shaw
I cut my teeth in journalism when I began looking into what I saw as abuses of power in my local government. From then on, I was hooked on the dopamine rush of uncovering information.
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Woodbridge Police Sergeant Marco Bruno
TRENTON, NJ — A New Jersey state grand jury has indicted a Woodbridge police sergeant on a first-degree aggravated manslaughter charge in the 2025 fatal shooting of Aamir Allen after reviewing body-camera footage, surveillance video, 911 calls, witness statements, and autopsy evidence.
According to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, the grand jury completed deliberations on April 6 and voted to indict Woodbridge Police Sgt. Marco Bruno in connection with the May 29, 2025 police-involved shooting in Woodbridge Township that led to Allen’s death.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the indictment followed an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, which handles deaths that occur during encounters with law enforcement under state policy and law requiring those cases to be presented to a grand jury.
Investigators said officers were dispatched shortly after 1 a.m. to East Tappen Street in the Port Reading section of Woodbridge Township after multiple 911 callers reported an assault involving a man with a baseball bat. Authorities identified that man as Allen, 35, of Carteret.
According to the attorney general’s account, responding officers found Allen walking in the roadway while carrying the bat and repeatedly ordered him to drop it. Allen allegedly did not drop the bat and began walking away as officers followed from a distance before stopping outside a closed convenience store, where officers continued giving commands.
Prosecutors said Bruno arrived after a police-radio transmission reported that Allen had struck occupied vehicles with the bat. After giving several commands of his own, Bruno allegedly fired six shots from his service weapon, striking Allen.
Allen was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick at about 1:40 a.m. and was pronounced dead at 9:21 a.m., according to the attorney general’s office.
The state said its investigation included witness interviews, police body-worn camera footage, private surveillance video, photographs, radio transmissions, medical examiner findings, and recordings of the related 911 calls. Authorities also publicly released video and audio tied to the shooting under the state’s transparency policies for fatal police encounters.
The case remains under investigation, and officials said no additional information was being released Tuesday evening.
In New Jersey, first-degree aggravated manslaughter carries a potential sentence of 10 to 30 years in state prison and may be subject to the No Early Release Act, according to the attorney general’s office.
The charge against Bruno is an accusation, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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State Grand Jury Indicts Woodbridge Police Sergeant in Fatal 2025 Shooting
A New Jersey state grand jury has indicted a Woodbridge police sergeant on an aggravated manslaughter charge in the fatal 2025 shooting of Aamir Allen.
By Randy Shaw
Published: April 15, 2026 8:30 am ET
Woodbridge Police Sergeant Marco Bruno
TRENTON, NJ — A New Jersey state grand jury has indicted a Woodbridge police sergeant on a first-degree aggravated manslaughter charge in the 2025 fatal shooting of Aamir Allen after reviewing body-camera footage, surveillance video, 911 calls, witness statements, and autopsy evidence.
According to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, the grand jury completed deliberations on April 6 and voted to indict Woodbridge Police Sgt. Marco Bruno in connection with the May 29, 2025 police-involved shooting in Woodbridge Township that led to Allen’s death.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the indictment followed an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, which handles deaths that occur during encounters with law enforcement under state policy and law requiring those cases to be presented to a grand jury.
Investigators said officers were dispatched shortly after 1 a.m. to East Tappen Street in the Port Reading section of Woodbridge Township after multiple 911 callers reported an assault involving a man with a baseball bat. Authorities identified that man as Allen, 35, of Carteret.
According to the attorney general’s account, responding officers found Allen walking in the roadway while carrying the bat and repeatedly ordered him to drop it. Allen allegedly did not drop the bat and began walking away as officers followed from a distance before stopping outside a closed convenience store, where officers continued giving commands.
Prosecutors said Bruno arrived after a police-radio transmission reported that Allen had struck occupied vehicles with the bat. After giving several commands of his own, Bruno allegedly fired six shots from his service weapon, striking Allen.
Allen was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick at about 1:40 a.m. and was pronounced dead at 9:21 a.m., according to the attorney general’s office.
The state said its investigation included witness interviews, police body-worn camera footage, private surveillance video, photographs, radio transmissions, medical examiner findings, and recordings of the related 911 calls. Authorities also publicly released video and audio tied to the shooting under the state’s transparency policies for fatal police encounters.
The case remains under investigation, and officials said no additional information was being released Tuesday evening.
In New Jersey, first-degree aggravated manslaughter carries a potential sentence of 10 to 30 years in state prison and may be subject to the No Early Release Act, according to the attorney general’s office.
The charge against Bruno is an accusation, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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State Grand Jury Indicts Woodbridge Police Sergeant in Fatal 2025 Shooting
A New Jersey state grand jury has indicted a Woodbridge police sergeant on an aggravated manslaughter charge in the fatal 2025 shooting of Aamir Allen.
By Randy Shaw
Published: April 15, 2026 8:30 am ET
Woodbridge Police Sergeant Marco Bruno
TRENTON, NJ — A New Jersey state grand jury has indicted a Woodbridge police sergeant on a first-degree aggravated manslaughter charge in the 2025 fatal shooting of Aamir Allen after reviewing body-camera footage, surveillance video, 911 calls, witness statements, and autopsy evidence.
According to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, the grand jury completed deliberations on April 6 and voted to indict Woodbridge Police Sgt. Marco Bruno in connection with the May 29, 2025 police-involved shooting in Woodbridge Township that led to Allen’s death.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the indictment followed an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, which handles deaths that occur during encounters with law enforcement under state policy and law requiring those cases to be presented to a grand jury.
Investigators said officers were dispatched shortly after 1 a.m. to East Tappen Street in the Port Reading section of Woodbridge Township after multiple 911 callers reported an assault involving a man with a baseball bat. Authorities identified that man as Allen, 35, of Carteret.
According to the attorney general’s account, responding officers found Allen walking in the roadway while carrying the bat and repeatedly ordered him to drop it. Allen allegedly did not drop the bat and began walking away as officers followed from a distance before stopping outside a closed convenience store, where officers continued giving commands.
Prosecutors said Bruno arrived after a police-radio transmission reported that Allen had struck occupied vehicles with the bat. After giving several commands of his own, Bruno allegedly fired six shots from his service weapon, striking Allen.
Allen was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick at about 1:40 a.m. and was pronounced dead at 9:21 a.m., according to the attorney general’s office.
The state said its investigation included witness interviews, police body-worn camera footage, private surveillance video, photographs, radio transmissions, medical examiner findings, and recordings of the related 911 calls. Authorities also publicly released video and audio tied to the shooting under the state’s transparency policies for fatal police encounters.
The case remains under investigation, and officials said no additional information was being released Tuesday evening.
In New Jersey, first-degree aggravated manslaughter carries a potential sentence of 10 to 30 years in state prison and may be subject to the No Early Release Act, according to the attorney general’s office.
The charge against Bruno is an accusation, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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