The Mahwah shooting

The Record’s Editorial Staff

THE TRAGIC weekend altercation between state park police officers and Ramapough Mountain Indians demands a rigorous and thorough investigation by Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli. So far, the information about the shooting incident simply does not add up, and the prosecutor's silence on the case has only compounded the problem.

Although the incident in the Mahwah section of Ringwood State Park occurred on Saturday afternoon, only a tiny bit is known with any certainty.

During a confrontation between park police officers and an estimated two dozen Ramapoughs, Emil Mann, a 43-year-old Ramapough from Monroe, N.Y., was shot at least twice. His cousin, Otis Mann, 42, is being held in the Bergen County Jail on $100,000 bail on charges that include aggravated assault and possession of a weapon. Prosecutors say Otis Mann grabbed a police baton and tried to injure two park police officers, Lt. Kelly Gottheimer and Officer Kenneth Kriete.

But the prosecutor took more than 48 hours to release the name of a third officer, Chad Walder, who fired the weapon. Mr. Walder has been placed on administrative leave. What's more, Mr. Molinelli has given no indication that Emil Mann, who was in critical condition in Hackensack University Medical Center, was even involved in the fracas. Authorities have said that Mr. Mann was shot twice in the leg, but the Ramapoughs say he was shot twice in the chest and once in the groin.

So why did Mr. Walder fire at him?

Some Ramapoughs were reportedly riding all-terrain vehicles just before the incident. Although ATVs are illegal in state parks, that should not have precipitated a violent confrontation. How did the situation spiral out of control?

The Ramapoughs involved in the incident are part of an insular group of roughly 2,000 people who trace their roots to the Leni-Lenape Indians and who have lived in the area since long before the land was incorporated into the state park system. The group has long had a mistrust of authority. The Ramapoughs' account of the incident varies greatly from the official account.

It's Mr. Molinelli's job in the days and weeks ahead to separate fact from fiction, but he must disclose the basic facts of the case as soon as possible. To do otherwise only makes a bad situation worse by fostering a climate of wild speculation and -- for the Ramapoughs -- further distrust.