The Newark police officer indicted for shooting into a fleeing vehicle in January, killing the driver and injuring the passenger, said that he would do it again because it saved his life and probably the lives of others because the men had a gun.

“I’d do it again. My actions that day is the reason why I’m talking right now. If not, I’d be at my funeral or some sort. I know I wouldn’t be here,” Officer Jovanny Crespo said, facing a room full of reporters at a press conference at the office of his attorney, Patrick Toscano. “Seeing a gun pointed directly at your face, it changes the way anybody’s going to act.”

Crespo, 26, was indicted in May on charges including aggravated manslaughter after the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office convinced a grand jury that the two-year officer had acted criminally and recklessly when he jumped out of his cruiser three times to fire into the vehicle during the pursuit. He has been suspended without pay since February.

The pursuit started when the driver, Gregory Griffin, 46, was pulled over but fled the stop shortly after that officer spotted a gun between his legs. At the end of the two mile chase, he was dead from a shot to the head and his passenger, Andrew Dixon, was shot in the face and charged with possession of the gun found in the car, according to authorities.

Crespo has said repeatedly that Dixon pointed the gun at him repeatedly, but prosecutors argue that he couldn’t see in the car because of the tinted windows.

In court in May, Assistant Prosecutor Alexander Albu argued that the body and dashboard camera footage shows that the excited Crespo was shooting wildly into the car without care for whether there might be innocent passengers or bystanders. At one point, he told the court, Crespo fired into the vehicle even when a police vehicle was on the other side in danger of being struck by crossfire.

But at the press conference Wednesday, Toscano repeatedly said the prosecutor’s office has whipped the public into a frenzy by presenting only part of the story, leaving out important things he’s learned through discovery.

Those include, he claimed, that Griffin drove at speeds as high as 70 mph and even onto sidewalks, that he and Dixon had been using drugs that were found in the car, that Dixon was wearing a balaclava facemask and had gloves when he was shot, and that Griffin was accused of beating up his girlfriend and stolen her car that night.

Toscano said the fact that both Griffin and Dixon had extensive felony records meant that they likely had no intention of stopping and surrendering, knowing they’d face long prison terms. Along with former New York police detective and TV personality Bo Dietl, there to support Crespo, he opined that Griffin was about to shoot the cop who first pulled him over if backup hadn’t arrived as soon as it did.

Crespo answered a few questions from reporters, including about the first time he jumped out of his cruiser and fired at the passenger side of the car as it drove away.

“I did get to the passenger door I believe I opened it. I seen that passenger turn his body with the weapon in his hand pointed directly at me. I had no choice but to take fire upon him,” he said.

Asked about the assistant prosecutor’s assertion that he shot into the car even though a cruiser was on the other side and put those officers at risk, Crespo admitted he did.

“I opened the door, that gun is being pointed at me. At that moment I’m worried about my life. I got a split second decision to make. I didn’t see that other vehicle on the other side. I had to worry about my life and getting home to my kids at that moment, so I fired,” he said.

Albu had told the court that other officers at the scene testified that they couldn’t see through the tint, but Crespo said he could because he was closer to the car than anyone else.

Toscano and Dietl passionately defended Crespo, raising their voices, calling him a hero who should have received a medal because he was the only cop brave enough to do what had to be done that night.

Dietl said that when he saw the videos in the initial news articles, he thought Crespo did act recklessly. “Until I came here and saw the full video. And portions of that video people have seen, I’d be angry too, seeing a person shooting at a fleeing car. But unless you understand what was leading up to that night, you will not understand what this officer went through,” he said. He and Toscano said Crespo and other officers were on high alert because there was a spike in shootings in the area.

The attorney general’s policies discourage shooting at vehicles because of the risk to innocent people, saying they should only fire on moving vehicles if there are no other options and there is an “imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or another person.”

Dietl said Crespo complied.

“When you’re pursuing a car, you can use deadly physical force if your life’s in danger, your partner or community people,” Dietl said. “What would have happened if that car got away and all of a sudden it killed two other cops or... ran someone down?”

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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