Vineland police release footage in shooting of man wielding a knife

The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office on Friday released body cam footage that showed an altercation between police and a city man who was brandishing a knife before being shot by an officer last month.

At 11:18 a.m. May 5, police responded to a residence in the 500 block of East Birch Street, where they encountered Luis R. Conde-Perez, 28, who was armed with a large knife. Police alleged Conde-Perez charged toward an officer and another person on the scene, resulting in the officer shooting Conde-Perez twice with his service-issued firearm.

The footage, shows police arriving on the scene that morning. It was apparent from the footage, police were aware that Conde-Perez was in possession of a knife and that the other person injured was Conde-Perez's father.

When officers arrived, they warned a nearby woman on scene to remain in her car. The officer then asked the father if Conde-Perez spoke English, which the father said he did not.

Conde-Perez could then be seen on the porch of a residence, with officers confirming he was holding a knife.

The officer called out "Hi Luis," who responded in Spanish. As the officer talked with the father, he asked the woman in a nearby car to move down the street.

After the car moved, Conde-Perez moved swiftly toward the officer. A Spanish-to-English translation on the body cam showed that Conde-Perez repeated "He will have to kill me" three times.

The father tried to intercept Conde-Perez's advancement against officers' orders. He tried to slow Conde-Perez, who charged toward officers with the knife. Conde-Perez then turned and slashed the knife toward the father, and the officer raised his firearm and fired two shots at Conde-Perez.

The father immediately dropped to his knees to check on Conde-Perez, who said, "You called them. I told you Dad, I told you" in Spanish. The officer reported Conde-Perez attempted to stab his father amid the chaos. The father appeared to have a stab wound in his left side when the officer lifted his shirt to check on him, the footage showed.

After a few moments of the father trying to comfort Conde-Perez, police ordered another woman to back away from the scene. The officer who fired the weapon then went to his vehicle to grab his emergency kit to administer aide before the footage ended.

Conde-Perez was airlifted to Cooper University Medical Center in Camden, where he was listed in stable condition. The father was treated at Cooper and released.

Conde-Perez was charged with criminal attempted homicide, two counts of aggravated assault and other weapons-related offenses.

He was ordered to remain in jail, May 17. His attorney, Dinaz Akhtar, told Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Darrell Fineman there was no probable cause for attempted murder in the case, saying her client was experiencing a mental health crisis and was threatening to harm himself when he was shot by police.

Social workers were called to Conde’s house the morning of May 5 after he threatened to harm himself, Akhtar said. Then the ensuing altercation occurred.