The name of the Litlte Egg Harbor cop who gunned down Patrick Fennell has been revealed
LITTLE EGG HARBOR -- While the family of a retired New York Police Department officer has learned the name of the cop who shot and killed him outside his Ocean County home last year, they still have plenty of unanswered questions.
Patrick Fennell's family is scheduled to return to Ocean County Superior Court on Aug. 16 in their ongoing quest to obtain the release of all investigative reports associated with the shooting as well as witness interviews, their attorney Matthew Adams said Wednesday.
The family has received one document -- a use-of-force report obtained under an open public records request.
Adams has also learned it was Little Egg Harbor patrolman Matthew Pretty who shot the retired officer a total of eight times during two separate sequences on July 16, 2016. Pretty is also a K-9 handler for the Ocean County SWAT team, according to Adams.
"The public and Lieutenant Fennell's surviving loved ones have a right to know the precise circumstances surrounding this overwhelming display of lethal force by K-9 Officer Pretty, a single shooter among dozens of heavily armed officers on the scene in a military-style police response," Adams told NJ Advance Media.
A grand jury in February declined to indict the then unnamed-officer and ruled the shooting justified.
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Adams said court proceedings seeking additional paperwork have twice been postponed at the request of state officials since the suit was filed May 25.
Fennell's family remains determined to obtain more details about how police and the SWAT team acted that night.
"We will not rest until we have the answers that we seek as to why Patrick was taken from us," Patrick's widow, brother, and sisters said in a family statement released through Adams.
"(We) are unified in our resolve to leave no stone unturned in our quest for the truth about Patrick's death," they said. "Despite facing resistance at every stage that has added insult to our injuries, we will go to whatever ends necessary to ensure that Patrick's killing does not remain shrouded in mystery and the subject of a narrative that is riddled with inconsistencies."
The use-of-force report had four boxes checked under "Subject's actions:" "Resisted police officer control;" "Physical threat/attack on officer or another;" "Threatened officer or another with firearm;" and "Fired at officer or another."
Police responded to Fennell's home around 10:30 p.m. the night of the shooting after his wife, Linda, called police and told them her husband was "behaving in a strange manner."
Adams, the attorney, said Fennell had his left lung removed in January 2016 and was suffering from hypoxia on a hot, humid evening. Symptoms of early hypoxia include anxiety, confusion, and restlessness - all of which are consistent with the reports that Fennell was acting erratically before being shot, the lawyer said.
Linda Fennell said when authorities arrived, an armed Patrick Fennell came out of the house wearing camouflage clothing and then fled into the woods behind the home.
Fennell had a .22-caliber revolver when he headed into the woods, police said.
Members of the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team arrived and had to use a variety of portable lights, night vision and thermal imaging technology to find the Fennell, police said.
Police at the scene tried to speak with Fennell, telling him they were there to help, but he was uncooperative, authorities said. Police said they got within 25 yards of the Fennell, who had been hiding amid leaves and brush, when he sat up and raised the gun.
Police said they ordered Fennell to drop the gun, but he pointed it in the direction of a group of officers and "said something antagonistic." Pretty then shot Fennell, according to Adams.
The officer stopped firing until other officers yelled "still moving," prompting the officer to fire at Fennell again, Adams said.
An EMS crew responded but pronounced Fennell dead at the scene. His revolver, partially loaded, was found to have been struck by one of the officer's rounds on the front of its chamber, "consistent with the gun having been pointed" at the officer who killed him, the attorney general's report said.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.