State grand jury votes against prosecuting two police officers who fatally wounded Gulia Dale III

0:00 - 911 call
4:35 - Dash cam 1
5:57 - Body cam 1
7:12 - Dash cam 2
8:49 - Body cam 2
10:16 - Dash cam 3
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A state grand jury voted not to file criminal charges in the death of Gulia Dale III, 61, who was shot and fatally wounded by two Newton police officers July 4, 2021.

Dale’s death was investigated by the state Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).

According to the investigation, Officers Garrett Armstrong and Steven Kneidl fired at Dale after he pointed a handgun at them outside his home on Clive Place in Newton about 9:30 p.m. Police recovered a .45-caliber handgun near where Dale fell.

Officers were responding to a 9-1-1 call from a family member concerned about Dale’s behavior and the fact that he had a gun. When they arrived, he was attempting to leave in a vehicle. The officers told him to get out of the vehicle, which he did. He then opened the rear driver’s-side door, briefly leaned inside, then closed the door.

Dale got back in the driver’s seat, and the officers told him to get out. He did and pointed a handgun at them.

Recordings from the officers’ body-worn cameras were released, as was video footage from the mobile video recorders in three police vehicles and an audio recording of the 9-1-1 call.

Officers rendered medical aid until emergency medical personnel arrived. Dale was pronounced dead about 9:46 p.m.

Dale was a retired U.S. Army veteran, who served in Iraq after he was called back to the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

His wife reportedly said she called police because she was afraid that he was suicidal. Family members have said that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, which might have been triggered by July 4 fireworks.

Dale, who attended school in Montclair and graduated from Orange High School, served in the Army from 1979 to 1982. After his discharge, he joined the National Guard, serving for 25 years.

He worked as an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officer at the Pentagon and at Picatinny Arsenal.