Patrick Fennell's family says they have never been given a clear answer as to why he was shot outside his Little Egg Harbor home
LITTLE EGG HARBOR -- The family of a retired New York Police Department officer shot and killed by police near his Ocean County home in July continues to seek answers from the Attorney General's office about his death.
Patrick and Linda Fennell's Sycamore Avenue home in Little Egg Harbor Township. Patrick Fennell was shot and killed by police outside his home on July 16. The attorney general's office said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing (CJ Fairfield | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) The family of Patrick Fennell says the 57-year-old was recovering from cancer surgery in which he had a lung removed and was still struggling to breathe when he was killed on July 16 in Little Egg Harbor.
In a statement, they said they have been met by "cold and indifferent silence" into their repeated inquiries about what led members of the Ocean County SWAT team to shoot the retired officer that night.
A letter from family attorney Alain Leibman emphasized that Fennell's wife Linda called police that night for his safety, not hers, after hearing what she thought were gunshots coming from the basement.
She said there had never been a domestic disturbance between the couple.
The attorney general's office offered a brief statement Monday in response to NJ Advance Media's request for information about the case.
"The investigation by the Attorney General's Shooting Response Team into the police-involved shooting of Patrick Fennell is ongoing," spokesman Peter Aseltine wrote in an email. "Our priority is to ensure that these investigations are conducted in a careful, thorough and impartial manner. Beyond that, we do not have any comment."
Leibman sent Attorney General Chistopher Porrino a letter dated Sept. 30 asking a series of questions about the shooting and raising "a number of disturbing factual issues" about it.
After writing that letter, Leibman said he had a brief telephone conversation with Assistant Attorney General Christopher S. Romanyshyn in which he again asked for someone from the AG's office to meet with the family before releasing its final report.
In a follow-up letter to Porrino dated Oct. 31, Leibman noted he hadn't received a response to that request.
Fennell led police into the woods near his Sycamore Avenue home, the Attorney General's Office said after the shooting. A handgun was found at the scene where he was shot, they said in a statement at the time.
His wife Linda, said at the time that her husband had been drinking, was "behaving in a strange manner" and was wearing camouflage clothing when he left the house just after 10:30 p.m.
It was the second fatal police shooting in eight months in Little Egg Harbor, after several officers shot and killed a man they said was brandishing a knife in November.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.