JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Authorities say police were justified in shooting and wounding a man who assaulted officers with a fence post.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office issued the finding Thursday.
Mark Highsmith was arrested after he was shot fleeing the attack in 2014. He eventually pleaded guilty to an aggravated assault charge and received two years probation.
The shooting occurred two days after a Jersey City officer was shot and killed outside a pharmacy.
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Authorities say Highsmith heaved the fence post at a police vehicle, missing an officer in the passenger seat but striking the driver in the head. Highsmith then ran to another vehicle and tried to wrestle away an assault rifle from an officer who fired several times through the vehicle door.
Highsmith suffered wounds to his left forearm, the right side of his torso, left buttocks and left thigh.