Ramapo employee still critical after shooting

By Suzan Clarke
The Journal News

A Ramapo town employee remained in critical condition yesterday afternoon after being shot by a New Jersey State Park Police officer over the weekend.

Emil Mann, 43, of Monroe was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey after the Saturday afternoon shooting near the Stag Hill section of the Ramapo Valley Reservation.

According to reports, Mann had been at a cookout with fellow members of the Ramapough Lenape Nation, an American Indian tribe recognized by New York and New Jersey. Several members had been riding all-terrain vehicles, which are prohibited on New Jersey public lands.

The shooting followed an argument between picnickers and the police. It is not clear what happened, and Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli has appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Emil Mann's cousin, Otis W. Mann of Monroe, was arrested on assault and other charges after trying to use Lt. Kelly Gottheiner's baton to hit her and Officer Kenneth Kriete, a press release from Molinelli's office said Sunday. That incident occurred about the same time as the shooting.

The two officers sustained minor injuries, according to news reports. The Prosecutor's Office has not identified the officer who shot Emil Mann.

Emil Mann's co-workers at the Ramapo Parks and Recreation Department reacted to the situation yesterday.

"I think we were all very surprised," said Michelle Antosca, the town's recreation director. "It's still so new to everybody."

Mann has worked for the town for 14 years and is a machine equipment operator, Antosca said.

"He's a good worker and a nice man, and to have an incident like that happen to someone that works with you is quite shocking. And, of course, we hope he and his family are doing well," she said.

The exact progression of events that resulted in the shooting is unclear, and Molinelli's office has released few details.

But witnesses to the incident say Otis Mann grabbed Gottheiner's baton after she slapped his 14-year-old daughter following an argument at the cookout site, according to a report yesterday The Record of Hackensack.

Emil Mann is reported to have tried to break up the ensuing altercation, The Record also said. Emil Mann is not reported to have been armed.

The Ramapough Mountain Indians, who trace their roots to the Lenape Nation, remained shocked by the shooting, Chief Anthony Van Dunk said yesterday.

"They're a little concerned," he said. "They're in a lot of disbelief."

The tribe planned to meet at their offices on Stag Hill Road in Mahwah last night.

Various local, state and law enforcement representatives, along with members of the Ramapough community, were expected to attend, Van Dunk said.

He has said the shooting was motivated by racial bias against his people.

While he acknowledged that information was not complete and that the investigation needed to advance, Van Dunk said: "At the moment we have a park police person who was possibly out of jurisdiction using deadly force in a situation that didn't require it."

Molinelli's office declined to answer any questions yesterday.

Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection, confirmed that the officer involved in the shooting was on leave.

She referred all other questions to Molinelli's office.

The Ramapoughs have about 3,000 members in Mahwah and Ringwood, N.J., and in Hillburn. The tribe has twice been denied federal recognition.