Chaos in Woodbridge: NJ officer faces aggravated manslaughter in controversial police shooting
Woodbridge Sgt. Bruno faces aggravated manslaughter charge for deadly shooting of domestic violence offender (Bodycam via NJOAG, Mayor John E. McCormac via Facebook)
🚨 NJ police sergeant indicted on aggravated manslaughter
🎥 Bodycam and 911 calls reveal tense moments before fatal shooting
⚖️ Defense claims officer's actions were justified as case moves forward
A Middlesex County police officer is facing a serious criminal charge after shooting and killing a repeat domestic violence offender last year.
On Monday, a state grand jury indicted Woodbridge Police Sgt. Marco Bruno on first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the death of Aamir Allen, of Carteret.
In announcing the charge, the state attorney general's office also publicly released dashboard and body-worn camera footage and three 911 calls from the incident on May 29, 2025.
Bruno joined the Woodbridge Police Department in 2011 and was promoted to Sgt. in 2023.
In a phone call with New Jersey 101.5, defense attorney Patrick Caserta called Bruno's actions "justified and reasonable." He said the indictment was a step that he had anticipated.
"We're confident of our position," Caserta also said, adding he believes that all the evidence in the case would point to his client's innocence of the charge he faces.
911 calls describe violent domestic incident in Port Reading
The first of three 911 calls from the incident was received around 1 a.m. by Woodbridge Police, as a victim said that Allen had attacked her with a bat.
The same woman placed a second call urging for police to respond.
A third call was made by a witness who described the assault outside a residence on East Tappen Street in the Port Reading section of town.
Responding officers found Allen, still carrying a bat while walking along the road.
They continued to follow him as he eventually stopped walking outside a convenience store, closed for the night.
A police radio message was also released in which one of the officers near Allen asks about whether someone with a taser was on the way.
State authorities said that Bruno arrived at the scene shortly after a police radio message reporting that Allen had hit occupied cars with the bat.
Dashboard, body cam footage show Sgt. Bruno response
"F*** that," Bruno is heard saying on his body worn camera, as he gets out of his cruiser and jogs over to where about a dozen other officers already are standing around Allen.
Bruno is seen pushing through two officers and drawing his gun as he tells Allen to "drop the fing bat now -- drop the fing bat."
He repeats the command a total of six times and then fires off six bullets.
Allen drops to the ground and as other officers move in to respond, Bruno again repeats "drop the fing bat," followed by "lay on your fing stomach."
As another officer calls for someone to get a medical bag, Bruno says "control him first."
"Everybody slow down. The suspect is down, and under arrest," Bruno is heard saying on his camera and on a police radio, as an ambulance pulls up.
Allen died within eight hours at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Allen's criminal record and state response to police use of force
Allen had a history of domestic violence arrests, according to court records.
He served just over a year in state prison from August 2023 to November 2024, for an aggregate term that included a 2021 aggravated assault on a domestic violence victim and several counts of harassment or bias intimidation.
Allen was also arrested multiple times for violating restraining orders in Middlesex County, between 2012 and 2016. Each time, the charge was downgraded and transferred to family court.
"Every day, law enforcement bears the burden and responsibility of keeping the people of New Jersey safe," state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a written statement on Monday.
"My office is fully committed to prosecuting this charge and ensuring that law enforcement only uses deadly force when lawful and necessary."