Road Rage Murder In New Jersey, Off-Duty Cop Slays Motorist

In an apparent road rage murder incident, officer Joseph Walker has been charged with the murder of Joseph Harvey Jr. The officer is being held on a $1 million bond in the county prosecutors office in New Jersey. Walker has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Walker, aged 40 from Eatampton, New Jersey was off-duty at the time of the shooting which took place on Saturday night on route 3 northbound near the interstate 97. The incident occurred on the shoulder of a ramp from Route 3 to Interstate 97 in the Millersville area.

Harvey, aged 36 was registered to an address in Baltimore county, but relatives said he lived in Anne Arundel. The altercation which lead to the apparent road rage murder started roughly a mile south of where the victim was shot.

It is reported that Walker, who was driving a gold Kia minivan with his wife and three children on board, approached the victim who was driving a green Honda Accord along with one passenger. The off-duty police officer was then allegedly approached by Harvey and his passenger who walked towards the gold minivan which was parked about 100 feet behind them on the shoulder.

When Harvey and his passenger walked towards the minivan, Walker got out of his vehicle and informed them that he was a police officer. The two men continued to approach in an apparently “aggressive manner,” at which point the officer allegedly fired a Glock, 45-caliber handgun and wounded the victim fatally.

It is not clear what sparked the dispute which lead to the fatal shooting. The Maryland state police are still investigating the incident and questioning eye witnesses. A spokesman from the Police department said:

“We are aware of the fatal shooting incident involving one of our detectives, who was off-duty and traveling in Maryland with his wife and children”.

Do you think we should re-evaluate allowing cops to hold their weapons when off-duty?