The Attorney General’s Office today identified the decedent and the officer from a fatal police-involved shooting that occurred on January 19, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. The civilian who died during the encounter has been identified as Wali Bey, 42, of Newark.
According to the preliminary investigation, plainclothes officers from the Newark Police Department, along with uniformed officers and marked vehicles, were conducting surveillance in the area of Ross Street and Evergreen Avenue in Newark shortly after 1 p.m. Newark Police Officer Nashid Reynolds exited his vehicle and approached other officers and a group of civilians that were detained in connection with an active investigation. Shortly thereafter, Officer Reynolds fired his weapon, striking Mr. Bey and another civilian, who were occupants of a vehicle. The two civilians were taken to University Hospital in Newark, where Mr. Bey was pronounced deceased at 1:51 p.m. The other wounded civilian was treated and later released. No police officers were physically injured. The investigation into the circumstances of the fatal encounter is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.
A 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107(a)(2), requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved.
Further information about how fatal police encounters are investigated in New Jersey under the Independent Prosecutor Directive can be found here:
https://www.nj.gov/oag/dcj/agguide/directives/ag-Directive-2019-4.pdf