Mystery surrounds police-involved investigation in Belleville, New Jersey

A large police presence was reported in Belleville, New Jersey near Branch Brook Park Sunday evening after initial reports of a shooting involving police officers that were retracted.

An NBC New York crew at the intersection of Mill St. and Union Ave. reported an active police investigation with a significant law enforcement presence extending into Branch Brook Park.

At one point, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed an officer-involved shooting, but retracted that statement within minutes.

Authorities at the scene kept people at a distance, and it was difficult to see what was happening inside the park as Essex County crime scene investigators focused much of their attention there.

A man at the scene said his friend was in the area as the situation unfolded and reported seeing an officer struck by a vehicle before guns were drawn and shots were allegedly fired.

“So my best friend texted me, and he was on his way to go watch the football game,” said David Vazquez of Newark. “He saw one of the police officers get ran over by a car, and then he said, ‘Here, like some shots go off,’ and then those those shots struck the back of his car, smashed his windows, and you know that’s pretty nuts,” he told News 4. “So I came down here to support my buddy.”

As of early Monday morning, there were no confirmed details about what happened earlier in the evening as the investigation went on.

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This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC New York. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC New York journalist edited the article for publication.