A Black Military Veteran Was Killed by Police. Now Household and Native Civil Rights Leaders Are Questioning Officers’ Response

Gulia Dale, a Black Army veteran, was killed by Newton officers outside his New Jersey home on July 4th after his wife made an 911 call about Dale’s state of mind and that he had a gun. But Dale’s family and local civil rights organizations are calling for officials to respond that night, and now the New Jersey attorney general is investigating the shooting.

According to CNN, Dale’s sister Valerie Cobbertt says the 61-year-old has PTSD and loud noises, like the fireworks that night, triggered him.

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Dale’s wife, Karen, told 911 that her husband was “crazy” and left the house with a gun. In edited videos released by the Attorney General’s Office, CNN reports that Dale was about to leave in his pickup when officers Steven Kneidl and Garrett Armstrong arrived.

According to CNN, this is what happened:

The videos show the arrival of the police at 9:30 p.m. as the pickup reverses onto the street. One of the officers yelled “Get out of the truck” several times, followed by “Get on the ground”. The driver gets out, opens the door to the back seat, leans forward and then gets back into the cab. It is not known if he picked up anything from the back seat.

When Dale jumps out of the car again, according to the attorney general’s preliminary investigation, he has something in hand. It was then that officers Steven Kneidl and Garrett Armstrong opened fire.

Dale collapsed on the sidewalk, the driver’s door of his truck open.

“He’s dead, he’s dead. Got a gun, got a gun,” one of the officers can be heard in a camera video worn on his body.

Dale was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the preliminary report.

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A .45 Glock 21 firearm was found near Dale’s body, according to a statement by the Attorney General.

Cobbertt has now filed a home affairs complaint with the Newton Police Department, requesting the release of raw body camera footage, as well as the names of the third officer and the 911 dispatcher. She believes the police could have done more to help her brother.

“He was struggling with mental imbalance and struggling with PTSD that night,” said Cobbertt, who added that loud bangs, particularly July 4th fireworks, often rocked Dale.

“He wasn’t himself so she called for help as anyone would. Every normal family member would ask for help for their family member, ”Cobbertt told CNN on Wednesday. “And they expect to get help from a crisis team, but my brother didn’t get that that night. He has untrained cops and guns that flicker from their holsters. “

Rick Robinson, chairman of the Newark Civilian Complaint Review Board and Newark NAACP Criminal Justice Committee, organized a vigil for Dale on Saturday. He drew a comparison between Dale’s death and another case.

According to NBC, the same law enforcement agency responded back in January to a call from Edwin Greene, an elderly white man who was suicidal and was lying in a parking garage with a gun.

From NBC:

When authorities arrived, police said Greene was sitting in a chair in the garage next to his vehicle, holding a small-caliber pistol to his head. The officers cordoned off the area and tried to speak to Greene, police said. While they were “in the process of establishing a relationship” with him, he reportedly fired a .22 caliber pistol at the officers twice.

None of the officers was hit, but one suffered a minor leg injury. Greene then got into his vehicle and fled, “although several officers tried to block its exit and gain access to the vehicle as it drove away,” police said.

The police were able to detain Greene outside a hospital and confiscate his weapon. He has been charged with attempted murder and is currently in the county jail. Robinson says Greene “had the privilege of being arrested after attacking the police”.

According to NBC, Steven Young, the president of South Jersey’s National Action Network, says the police forgot they are officers. He tried to organize a meeting between Cobbertt and the attorney general.

“We got the 911 call that he needs help and will not be murdered,” he said of Dale.

“We are torn. We are broken. Our heart is in pieces, ”said Cobbertt, according to CNN. “He should still be here with us. That didn’t have to happen. “