Settlement Reached In Death Of Bergen Man Shot By PA Cop: Report

Hasbrouck Heights NJ

07 February, 2022

10:11 AM

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HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, NJ — The children of the Bergen County man who was shot and killed by a police officer outside a Pennsylvania amusement park will split money from a settled civil lawsuit, a report says. A South Whitehall police officer shot and killed Joseph Santos of Hasbrouck Heights in July 2018 across from Dorney Park in Pennsylvania. The Morning Call reported Santos' adult sons and 11-year-old daughter will get part of a $950,000 settlement in one of two lawsuits his partner filed against South Whitehall Township and its police force. Juliana Valenzuela, Santos' partner, agreed to end a federal civil rights lawsuit in September, The Morning Call reported. Officer Jonathan Roselle, a military veteran, had been on patrol for less than five months when he shot Santos. Santos had been "acting irrationally" before Roselle shot him, the Lehigh County District Attorney said in 2018. Several people called 911 after they allegedly observed Santos jumping onto cars. Authorities previously said that Santos ripped a window off a woman's vehicle and then jumped on the hood of another. Roselle was charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting, which Attorney James Martin called an "unreasonable decision" by a "relatively inexperienced officer." Related coverage: Hasbrouck Heights Man Fatally Shot By Cops Near Dorney ParkCop Charged With Manslaughter In Hasbrouck Heights Man's DeathVideo Shows What Led To NJ Man's Fatal Death-By-Cop Near DorneyFamily Of Bergen Man Shot By PA Cop Might File Lawsuit: ReportRally To Be Held In Memory Of Hasbrouck Heights Man