Grand jury clears Fair Haven officer in Rumson police shooting involving burglary suspect
FREEHOLD, NJ – A Monmouth County Grand Jury has declined to bring criminal charges against a Fair Haven police officer who shot a burglary suspect during a pre-dawn police pursuit in Rumson last year, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
The incident occurred on September 6, 2024, when multiple police departments responded to reports of attempted burglaries and vehicle thefts in Rumson. According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Officer Brooks Robinson of the Fair Haven Police Department discharged his weapon after a suspect vehicle accelerated toward him, striking one of the passengers in the face.
The shooting followed a series of overnight break-in reports that began shortly before 4:45 a.m. Officers from Rumson and surrounding municipalities, including Fair Haven, responded to two locations in Rumson. When a Rumson officer attempted to stop a suspect vehicle, it sideswiped his patrol car and fled, triggering a pursuit.
Officer Robinson, hearing the call for assistance, drove into Rumson and encountered the suspect vehicle and a pursuing police car on Avenue of Two Rivers. After stopping and exiting his patrol vehicle, Robinson activated his emergency lights and drew his firearm. The suspect vehicle initially slowed down but then accelerated in his direction. He fired at the oncoming vehicle, striking 28-year-old passenger Nnamdi Atumudo of Irvington.
The vehicle crashed shortly afterward, and Atumudo received medical aid at the scene for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the face.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Responsibility Unit conducted the investigation in coordination with the Office of the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, in accordance with the Independent Prosecutor Directive. Investigators reviewed body-worn camera footage, mobile video, witness interviews, and statements from Officer Robinson and a Rumson officer who witnessed the shooting.
The findings were presented to a grand jury, which declined to return charges against Officer Robinson.
Separately, Atumudo and the vehicle’s driver, 21-year-old Rasheen Yarbrough of St. Louis, were charged with multiple burglaries across Monmouth County. Atumudo pleaded guilty to burglary and attempted burglary and was sentenced to four years in state prison. Yarbrough pleaded guilty to second-degree eluding and attempted burglary and received the same sentence.
No administrative decisions regarding Officer Robinson’s conduct have been announced, though the matter will undergo a standard internal review.
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Key Points
- A grand jury declined to charge Officer Brooks Robinson in a 2024 shooting that injured a burglary suspect in Rumson
- The investigation confirmed that the officer fired when a suspect vehicle accelerated toward him
- The two suspects involved later pleaded guilty to burglary-related charges and received four-year prison sentences