Corzine talks to Indians about shooting

By Tina Kelley/Nate Schweber
New York Times

MAHWAH, N.J., April 19 — Gov. Jon S. Corzine and other state officials met on Wednesday with the tribal council of the Ramapough Mountain Indians to discuss the fatal shooting this month of a tribe member by a New Jersey State Park Police officer.

"I wanted to make sure the state expresses its desire to have a level playing field here, and that justice is blind," the governor told a group of about 40 protesters who had gathered outside the township's Municipal Building during his 30-minute meeting with the council. He promised the tribe "a thorough and effective investigation."

The meeting was arranged in response to concern by tribe members about the killing of Emil Mann, 45, of Monroe, N.Y. Mr. Mann was shot in the woods off Stag Hill Road on April 1, during a confrontation with Park Police officers who were enforcing rules against riding all-terrain vehicles in parkland. He died nine days later from his injuries.

Investigators have not yet determined who owned the land where the shooting occurred, said Zulima V. Farber, the state attorney general, who attended the meeting. Some officials say the land appears to belong to Bergen County, outside the jurisdiction of the Park Police. Lisa P. Jackson, commissioner of the state's Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the Park Police, also attended the meeting.

Chad Walder, the officer who shot Mr. Mann, has said he was acting in self-defense, though tribe members said Mr. Mann was shot while trying to break up a fight. Mr. Mann was charged with assault on a police officer before he died.

The county prosecutor's office is investigating the shooting, while the attorney general's office is investigating whether state procedures were followed. Officer Walder and three other police officers were placed on paid leave.

Ms. Farber said she expected the case to be presented to a grand jury in several weeks.

Some Ramapoughs, a tribe of 5,000 members recognized by New Jersey and New York but not by the federal government, believe the shooting was racially motivated.

In response to a request from the tribe, Ms. Farber said she would consider sensitivity training for police officers to acquaint them with the culture of American Indians in the state.

Ivy Payne, 27, a tribal member from Hillburn, N.Y., stood outside the building during the meeting with her 17-month-old son, Bryan. She called the shooting one example in a history of racial profiling. "I want better for my child, my son," she said. "I don't want my son to get picked on just because of where he's from or the color of his skin."

Rodney Van Dunk, a tribal member who took part in the protest, said, "We want an indictment for murder. There's a lost life here, a father of three." He added, "You just can't shoot an unarmed man."

Kelli Martucci, Mr. Mann's niece, said she felt impatient with the investigation. "I think it's taken too long," she said. "If it had been someone on the street, they would've been indicted right away. But the shooting was by a state person."

After Mr. Corzine addressed the crowd, a sister of Mr. Mann's, who declined to give her name, said, "I feel let down, I hoped he would say these people would be arrested." She added, "Justice isn't going to be served here."

But Anthony Van Dunk, the chief of the tribe, called the meeting "a great opportunity for us to educate the leader of the state on points we find important."

"At this point I feel justice is still blind," he said. "I never think you should have a stopwatch on justice."