BYRAM - The police officer who fatally shot a shotgun-wielding man on Laurel Trail this past June was justified in his use of deadly force, according to the findings of an investigation conducted by the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office.

Ronald Neal, 56, of Byram, was killed after he allegedly aimed a shotgun directly at an officer outside of his home on June 3. Neal lived in the home with his wife, who wasn't home at the time of the incident, authorities have said.

Sussex County Prosecutor Francis Koch said in a six-page statement on Thursday the officer who fatally shot Neal was justified because it was necessary to protect the officer at whom Neal had raised his gun.

Under state law, fatal shootings involving police officers receive a review by a grand jury unless "the undisputed facts indicate that the use of force was justifiable under law." Koch said no criminal charges were filed and the facts were undisputed in this case so it was not presented to a grand jury.

Koch said in the statement Byram police responded to Neal's home after receiving a 911 call at 3:41 p.m. on June 3 reporting a gunshot inside the home at 19 Laurel Trail in Byram. The caller told police she believed the person in the house had shot himself.

The officers involved in the shooting were not named in the news release, but were identified as Officers 1, 2, 3 and 4 based on the order of their arrival at the scene. Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Greg Mueller previously identified Byram Detective Robert Tierney as the officer who shot and killed Neal. He also said Tierney has an "exemplary service record."

The first officer arrived on the scene and was told by a neighbor that earlier in the day he'd heard a gunshot from the Laurel Trail home. The second and third officers arrived on the scene a short time later and then all three officers took up "cover positions on the property," according to the statement.

Officer 3 yelled several times to try and make contact with the resident inside the home, and, eventually, Neal responded and told the officer he was alone but he had firearms, per the statement.

Neal then exited the home with two firearms -- a handgun and a shotgun -- and continued to talk to police. As Neal and Officer 3 continued to talk, a fourth officer, a crisis negotiator, arrived on the scene and took over communications, according to the statement.

It was during his interaction with the fourth officer that Neal repeatedly began to yell for police to shoot at him, according to the statement. While Neal and the crisis negotiator were speaking, Neal's shotgun was allegedly leaning by the front doorway and in close proximity to him.

Neal had initially put the handgun down on his porch, but during his discussion with the crisis negotiator he picked it up and threw it onto the lawn between himself and police officers, according to the statement.

A short time later, Neal allegedly walked back to the front doorway of his home and picked up the shotgun despite being told by the crisis negotiator to put it down.

"Mr. Neal yelled to the officers not to shoot him in the arm because if they did he would only reach for the gun again," according to the statement. "Mr. Neal then raised the shotgun, with the barrel pointed straight up in the air. While still on the porch, Mr. Neal then began to lower the shotgun so it was pointed directly at Byram Officer 1."

It continued: "It was only upon this action that Byram Officer 3 fired a single shot at Mr. Neal to protect the life of Byram Officer 1. Byram Officer 3's single shot hit Mr. Neal in the left side of his torso causing him to fall backwards and to the floor of the porch."

After Neal was shot, police rushed to his aid and cleared his weapons, according to the statement. Despite first aid, Neal was pronounced dead at Hackettstown Medical Center at 5:21 p.m.

The medical examiner later confirmed Neal's cause of death to be a single gunshot wound to the left chest area.

The shooting investigation was immediately taken over by the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office, which notified the state Division of Criminal Justice of the incident.

As part of the investigation, police spoke with an individual who talked to Neal several times over the phone on June 3. The individual told investigators he suspected Neal was under the influence of alcohol, and, during the course of the conversation, Neal said he wanted to see his parents, both of whom are dead.

The individual also said Neal asked him to come over, but the individual said he couldn't because of a prior commitment, to which Neal allegedly responded "but you said if I ever needed you, you would come over."

Two days after the shooting, police spoke with a man who had been friends with Neal for about 10 years. The friend told police Neal told him a year or two ago about a plan he had "to come out of his house with an unloaded gun and to get someone else to remove him from the planet."

The friend told officers he believed Neal had referred to police as the ones who would remove him.

Neighbors who lived near the home also told the prosecutor's office police "professionally and calmly" tried to calm Neal down.

According to Koch, the Division of Criminal Justice concurred with the prosecutor's office's findings and agreed with the decision to forego the grand jury review.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at

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