Kristie Cattafi

Staff Writer, @KristieCattafi

GARFIELD — More than five years after police shot and killed a Garfield teen, sparking months of protests in this working-class community, his estate has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit for $180,000.

The suit had been brought in U.S. District Court by Jasmine Rivera, Malik Williams’ girlfriend and the mother of his young son. Rivera’s attorney, Victor Urbaez, said that despite years of litigation, he was unable to prove that Williams was unarmed when officers shot him in a residential garage after he escaped police custody.

“We had a very steep hill to climb in terms of proving what actually happened in the garage,” said Urbaez. “We have no witnesses or video to counteract the police version of events.”

Attorneys for Bergen County, Garfield, and the officers involved — who were all named in the suit — did not return calls for comment.

Nine shots fired

On Dec. 10, 2011, Williams, 19, turned himself in to Garfield police on an aggravated assault warrant that stemmed from an incident with Rivera. He was served with the criminal complaint, and police began booking him.

After about two hours, Williams — who at times was left unrestrained and unattended — fled the unsecured booking room and bolted from the police station.

Police found him in a garage near Dahnerts Lake Park, where he had barricaded the door with three air-conditioning units and a drill press, according to an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

When a Garfield police sergeant, Jose Brito, and Bergen County Police Officer Kenneth Keenan entered through the bay door, Williams popped up from behind a pile of materials, the Prosecutor’s Office said.

Keenan ordered him to get down, but Williams, armed with a claw hammer and metal hand saw with a 16-inch blade, instead advanced on the officers in “a threatening manner,” the Prosecutor’s Office said. As he was advancing toward the officers, Williams cursed at them, according to the investigation.

Keenan fired when Williams was about 7 to 8 feet away from him, authorities said. His shots were followed by Brito's.

An examination of the scene revealed that a total of nine rounds were fired: five from Keenan’s duty weapon and four from Brito’s weapon. Williams sustained five gunshot wounds, an autopsy showed.

Williams’ family has claimed that he did not have a weapon when police shot him. In her suit, Rivera argued that non-life-threatening measures could have been taken to return Williams, who was surrounded by police in a garage on a dead-end street, to custody.

In 2012, a grand jury determined there was not enough evidence to charge the officers with Williams’ death.

Protests

Williams' killing came at a moment when a national discussion about relations between police and young men of color was just beginning to emerge. Two months after Williams was killed, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot in Florida by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Also in February 2012, 18-year-old Ramarley Graham was chased into his Bronx apartment by police and killed as he tried to flush marijuana down the toilet.

In Garfield, dozens of protests were held after Williams’ death. Residents flooded City Council meetings looking for answers.

Williams’ shooting never gained national attention as Martin's did, much to the frustration of local activists. However, local protests persisted, demanding more community outreach and support and the firing of the chief of police. Police Chief Kevin Amos retired in 2016 after 36 years of service.

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Many of the protests were spearheaded by a resident group formed in the wake of the shooting, United Residents Of Garfield Engaged in Neighborhood Transformation (URGENT).

URGENT’s president, Miguel Reyes, said that initially, five years ago, there was more community outreach, but he believes it has not been continuous. He said URGENT fought for transparency in the shooting and that transparency still remains a major issue, just in different ways — as with contamination and redevelopment in the city.

“Have things really changed? No. The city just keeps appeasing us,” he said. “It’s almost like what happened to Malik has been forgotten."

Garfield police did not return calls for comment. But in the last five years, the department has added body cameras and trained officers to carry Tasers. There has also been an increase in police and community events, such as breakfast with a cop, coffee with a cop and cops and bobbers, a fishing event aimed at children and teenagers.

Settlement

Urbaez said Rivera decided to settle in the best interest of Williams' son, who is now 5.

The settlement for $180,000 paid by the defendants was a lump sum. It was approved by a judge on March 8.

"We are disappointed with the amount, but no amount will ever truly bring justice to what happened to a 19-year-old kid from Garfield, New Jersey," Urbaez said. "At the end of the day, this is a grave injustice, what was done to this young man who was a wonderful kid. He had a couple of run-ins with the law here and there, but it was never malicious."

Urbaez thanked URGENT for organizing marches and spreading awareness of Williams’ death.

"Hopefully events like this will never happen in Garfield or throughout the state," Urbaez said.

E-mail: cattafi@northjersey.com