The Attorney General's Office has been ordered to officially release the names of officers involved in 14-year-old's shooting
TRENTON - For nearly a year, the Attorney General's Office has refused to release the names of three officers involved in the shooting of 14-year-old Radazz Hearns last year - but that could soon change.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled on a lawsuit brought forward by activist John Paff last year; she ordered the office to publicly release the names of the officers involved in the Aug. 7 incident.
Hearns was shot seven times in the buttocks and legs while running from police. Police claimed he pointed a gun at them and the teenager was later charged with aggravated assault, possession of a handgun and possession of a defaced firearm.
An investigative document obtained by NJ Advance Media named State Police Detective Doug Muraglia and Mercer County Sheriff's Officer James Udijohn as the officers who ran after and fired at Hearns. The document said State Police Trooper Blair Astbury arrived at the scene but did not chase Hearns.
The names were published in the Trenton Times two months after the shooting but the Attorney General's Office still stayed mum on the topic - refusing to confirm whether the three officers were involved.
That didn't sit well with Paff, who sued the Attorney General's Office, the Mercer County Sheriff's Office and New Jersey State Police last year, demanding that they release the names publicly. The leak of the three names in October was just a rumor, he said.
"I wanted confirmation from the Attorney General's Office," Paff said Saturday after Jacobson's decision. "The public needs to have enough information about what law enforcement is doing in order to hold law enforcement accountable."
A representative for the Attorney General's Office was not available for comment Saturday.
ACLU calls for AG's office to release names
In her decision, Jacobson also considered two lawsuits brought forth by activist and former West New York police officer Richard Rivera.
In one, Rivera was calling for New Jersey State Police to release the names of officers involved in the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Daniel Wolfe last spring. Wolfe was shot by police who were pursuing the stolen car he was driving, authorities have said.
In the other suit, Rivera demanded state police release records, including arrest forms, related to a concert that turned violent last summer. Police clashed with concert-goers and used pepper spray, tear gas and armored vehicles to subdue the crowd, according to court documents.
Jacobson grouped the suits together in her decision, saying that they, "touch upon topics of great national importance and public debate."
But, she added, the state is right in their concern for officer safety if the names are released.
In the end, Jacobson said she had to follow the exact language of New Jersey's public records laws and ordered the names of the officers to be released by July 20.
For Paff, the decision is an important step in bringing more transparency to police departments.
"It's starting to become unclear to people whether civilians are in charge of police or police are in charge of civilians," Paff said.
"We have a responsibility to bring this around."
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.