MOUNTAIN LAKES — The Attorney General’s Office is conducting an investigation of a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred on Sunday, April 26, in Wayne. One male civilian sustained fatal injuries.

The decedent has been identified as Bradley G. Pullman, 48, of Beacon, N.Y.

The investigation is being conducted by the Integrity Bureau within the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability and the New Jersey State Police Major Crime Bureau.

According to the preliminary investigation, at approximately 4:38 p.m., a marked police vehicle of the Mountain Lakes Police Department attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop of a Lexus sedan that performed an illegal U-turn.

The car did not stop and a pursuit ensued through multiple municipalities. The Fairfield Police Department and Wayne Police Department assisted in the pursuit, which ended in Wayne at the interchange of U.S. Route 46, Route 23 and Interstate 80, when multiple police officers fired at the suspect, fatally wounding him.

A .380-caliber pistol was recovered from Pullman’s vehicle.  Pullman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.

The investigation is being conducted pursuant to a law enacted in January 2019, Senate Bill 1036, which requires that the Attorney General’s Office conduct investigations of a person’s 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.

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, First Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Zelante, and Acting Chief of Investigations Christoph Kimker regretfully announce the passing of former Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of Investigations, Joseph A. Devine. Chief Devine passed away yesterday at his residence in Chester.

A graduate of the FBI National Academy’s Class #198 and proud U.S. Army veteran of the Military Police Corps, Chief Devine began his law enforcement career at the Morris County Sheriff’s and the Morris County Prosecutor’s offices. He joined the Rockaway Township Police Department in 1981, and worked his way up through the ranks to become Chief of Police in July 1998. Chief Devine led the township police department until 2002 when he returned to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office to serve as Chief of Investigations under then Prosecutor Michael M. Rubbinaccio.

In 2006, Chief Devine retired from law enforcement to pursue a career in higher education. Chief Devine once served as an associate professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, teaching graduate classes on homeland security, management, and leadership. He was also an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University.

Chief Devine held a Masters of Science Degree in Criminal Justice, a Masters in Administrative Science, an Educational Specialist Degree, and a Doctorate in Leadership and Management from Seton Hall University. He had presented lectures at several academic and professional conferences, including a leadership lecture about social and emotional intelligence on the USS Intrepid in 2014.

Prosecutor Knapp said “As the Township of Rockaway labor attorney, I worked extensively with Chief Devine for many years, beginning during his tenure as a captain and subsequently when he was promoted to Chief of Police. We continued to work together when he joined the MCPO as Chief of Investigations. Joe was also a student of mine in the graduate program at FDU for multiple courses. As a career law enforcement professional, Chief Devine served multiple agencies with honor, dedication to duty, and excellence. May he rest in peace.”

Chief Devine is survived by his three children, Conor, Sean, and Heather.

By Lilo H. Stainton, NJ Spotlight

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com

New Jersey plans to use a new, easier-to-administer COVID-19 test to screen residents and staff at state-run facilities for individuals with significant developmental disabilities and at nursing homes in South Jersey, strategy officials said could serve as a model for more widespread public testing as the state tries to recover from the coronavirus.

The initiative — the state’s first foray into large-scale institutional testing — will focus first on the 1,238 residents and roughly 4,300 employees at New Jersey’s five developmental centers; nearly 250 people living or working at these sites have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and seven residents have died of the disease.

State officials said they are also working with leaders at Cooper University Health Care, in Camden, to create a testing program for residents and staff at 16 long-term care facilities in the region; the goal is to use this screening to help contain the spread of the virus in a region that has so far been spared the worst of the outbreak. Across the state, nearly 13,800 positive COVID-19 tests have been connected to nursing homes and other residential care sites, and at least 1,540 deaths have been reported, with the worst impact at facilities in North Jersey.

Another 24,000 individuals with disabilities live at group homes in the community operated by state contractors; among this group, 221 have tested positive for the viral infection and 26 have died, according to the latest statistics. These facilities are not part of the initial saliva-testing program, but state officials said they intend to use this method to screen additional state workers and individuals in institutional care, so they could be among those on the list for this approach.

‘Prioritizing vulnerable populations’
“As we work to expand testing across the state, we will be prioritizing the most vulnerable populations like those who reside in these centers,” state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said. Residents in more crowded institutional settings, where it is hard to maintain social distance, are particularly at risk for becoming infected.

“Human Services is continuing to work 24/7 to support and protect individuals with developmental disabilities across our state,” said Human Services Commissioner Carole Johnson, whose department oversees programs for developmentally disabled residents. “The Department will continue to take all available actions to support our residents and staff.”

The state has faced a growing backlash for its efforts to control the spread in some public institutions, like veterans’ homes and prisons, where the virus has exploded in recent weeks. As of Monday, more than 500 corrections officials and inmates were infected and 16 prisoners had died. A plan to release certain nonviolent inmates has been slow to take effect after Gov. Phil Murphy announced it earlier this month.

Officials said the saliva test, unveiled by Rutgers University earlier this month, is already in use at multiple public screening sites, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s operation in Edison. Starting today, it will be also be offered at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick to screen all health care workers, whether or not they have symptoms; it is also being shared with other hospitals and health care networks, they said.

Murphy to discuss wider public use
Murphy said he anticipates this type of testing will also be useful for wider public application, a process he promised to flesh out on Monday. “I have noted many times having a robust and greatly expanded testing program in place is vital to our being able to reopen responsibly our state,” the governor said at his press briefing Thursday. “I said it on Monday and I still believe it on Thursday that we need to at least roughly double our testing capacity’s minimal benchmark” to allow for a safe return to public life, he added.

New Jersey is now able to process tests for between 7,000 and 9,000 people daily between the public and commercial laboratories, according to state health officials; this number is impacted by the availability of test kits, swabs and other materials needed to administer the test, trained staff and the personal protective equipment (PPE) — gowns, masks and other health care gear — needed to keep them safe. Overall, nearly 100,000 residents have been diagnosed with the virus, including more than 5,300 who have died.

Dr. Brian Strom, chancellor of Rutgers University Biomedical and Health Sciences — an umbrella entity that oversees the program that developed the test in conjunction with a private lab — said the new method has the capacity to screen 10,000 people a day and could be scaled to two or three times that volume fairly easily; they are currently seeking the staff and other resources needed to make this expansion possible. The process includes collecting a small amount of saliva in a special tube, which he said is far easier, and less invasive, than the deep nasal and throat swabs needed for the traditional test. It also appears to be more accurate, according to a new review by Yale University, he said.

Collecting the saliva sample also involves far fewer clinicians than the previous tests, Strom noted, a benefit that reduces the need for PPE by 90% and doesn’t depend on swabs, which have been in short supply. An easier collection process also speeds the testing protocol, allowing four times as many people to be screened than under the swab system, he noted.

Strom said these characteristics make the saliva test ideal for widespread public use. Rutgers is now working with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka to design a program to screen at least 100,000 Brick City residents, he noted, and the university also plans to use the test to help assess the health of students and staff as it decides how to reopen classes.

Key for health care providers
The test will also be important for health care providers as they continue to respond to the current epidemic and plan for what’s next, Strom said. “As we begin to plan for the ability of the health care enterprise to begin to take care of non-COVID patients again we need to be sure we don’t give COVID to the patients we take care of,” he noted.

While Murphy has repeatedly cautioned against relaxing the strict social-distancing requirements instituted in late March, he has also hinted for weeks at the need to plan the state’s reopening, or re-entry, and coordinate the timeline with other states in the region. On Sunday, he appointed his chief of staff, George Helmy; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President and CEO Dr. Richard Besser; and former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to a multistate council that will oversee this process.

Murphy has also stressed that reopening the state requires not just a robust testing program, but also the capacity to track down and warn all the potential contacts for someone who tests positive, and the ability to quarantine that person — providing shelter, food, medicine, and other services — for up to 14 days. Persichilli said she is finalizing a testing strategy required for a larger, statewide reopening, which she said would be available next week.

MORRIS COUNTY — Helping healthcare and other workers during this time of crisis are six fashion design students, their professors, and several employees at County College of Morris (CCM) who are making face masks to protect those working on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What helping people in this way means to me is making an impact,” says Emil Desena, of Randolph, one of the students working on the project. “Even just on a small, local level, it’s still important, and I’m glad that I’m able to use my passion for sewing and creating in a way that helps others.”

The project began after faculty learned that some students had started making masks during the college’s spring break in March and as hospitals and other organizations started asking for personal protective equipment (PPE) for their employees.

“As the design faculty migrated to online classes we lost our ability to deliver coursework using our traditional hands-on teaching methods,” says Professor Kelly Whalen, who oversees the design programs at CCM. “Faculty and students shared research and information about acceptable mask designs that would be useful to a variety of facilities and individuals. A few videos, recommended by healthcare organizations and others, were selected, providing clear instructions on how to construct the masks. Faculty then chose to adopt the project in their Introduction to Sewing, Design Concepts I & II, and Fashion Construction II classes.”

Whalen is serving as coordinator of the face mask project, while Professors Anita Collins and Wendy Carmona are working closely with the students and making masks themselves. Several CCM staff members also have become involved in the project, making it a college-wide effort. 

CCM Masks Being Sent to Health Facilities Throughout the Community

To date the students and professors have made nearly 200 masks, including several child-sized masks that will be donated to a pediatric healthcare facility in the next few days. Masks have already been delivered to a hematology and oncology facility affiliated with Morristown Medical Center, as well as to Compassionate Care healthcare workers in Sparta.  Others that have received, or will be receiving masks soon, are Saint Clare’s Hospitals in Denville and Dover, Overlook Hospital, and workers at UPS.

“It’s real-world problem solving, as we have had to organize distributing fabric, sourcing elastic, identifying places in need and then getting the masks to where they are needed while adhering to the social distancing and disinfectant protocols,” says Whalen.

Students are either using fabric they have on hand or received at a recent equipment distribution event the college held for students, faculty, and staff earlier this month. Whalen has been receiving the finished masks via home mailboxes and trunk exchanges. Regarding delivery of the masks, they are given to people CCM students, faculty, and staff know at the facilities that are looking for PPE for their workers.

“I have shared with the students that their knowledge of sewing and design is an essential skill that impacts the world,” notes Collins. “As fashion designers, they are able to create wearable items that not just make people look and feel beautiful, but also protect them and help to save lives.”

Other students making face masks are Jenna Lentz, of Fairfield; Taylor Moss, of West Orange; Louis Smith, of Basking Ridge; and Nieasia Wilkins, of Budd Lake. CCM employees helping with the project include Rosemary Grant, Brian Kafel, and Jeri LaBruna and also Adjunct Professor Gregory Somjen.

“I feel very happy and humbled to know that something I love doing can help others stay safe,” says Devyn Orozco, of Lake Hiawatha, another student making masks. “I believe that every little bit counts, and together we can help stop the spread of the virus.”

Want to learn more about fashion design? Register now for summer and fall at CCM click here.