The radio recordings and video footage are available here: https://njoag.box.com/s/t059mdzkldska43t4ip7g4s6a9y4u43k
After an officer saw a dog bleeding inside, two other officers tried unsuccessfully to kick open the door to the house. The woman came outside and shouted to the police that she wanted everyone gone.
IMAGES and VOICE RECORDINGS RELEASED BY NJ Attorney General’s Office
TRENTON NJ (JULY 14, 2026)— The Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) today released radio recordings and video footage from four police body-worn cameras related to a March 16, 2026 fatal police-involved shooting in the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey Township, New Jersey. The civilian who died during the encounter had previously been identified as Susanne Clarke, 55, of Lacey.
The fatal shooting is under investigation by OPIA. The recordings are being released pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 designed to promote the fair, impartial, and transparent investigation of police use of deadly force. Representatives of Ms. Clarke’s family were given an opportunity to review the recordings prior to their public release.
According to the preliminary investigation, shortly after 2 a.m., four Lacey Township police officers were dispatched to Ms. Clarke’s residence on Hemlock Drive, near the intersection of Birch Road, in the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey. The officers were dispatched in response to a 911 call from Ms. Clarke in which she reported suffering from a suspected heart attack. Upon arrival at the residence, the officers encountered Ms. Clarke, who was inside of the residence and communicating from a window. Officers asked Ms. Clarke to come to the front door to speak with them. Ms. Clarke told the officers to leave her alone, and she did not come to the front door to speak with them.
The officers remained on scene and continued to tell Ms. Clarke that they needed to speak with her to ensure her well-being. EMS personnel also arrived on scene. Officers intermittently heard Ms. Clarke shouting at them to leave and observed her moving within the residence and lying on the floor.
After the officers had been on scene for approximately 30 minutes, Officer Dallas Gant looked through the home’s rear glass sliding door and stated that he observed a dog with a knife wound. Officers then attempted to enter the home by, among other things, kicking the front door. After this attempt was unsuccessful, Officer Gant began to enter the home through a side window. He immediately withdrew from the window after he observed Ms. Clarke enter the room holding a knife. Ms. Clarke then exited the residence through the rear glass sliding door with a knife in her hand and advanced toward multiple officers. Officer Gant and another officer ordered her to drop the knife. Officer Gant fired his service weapon multiple times, striking Ms. Clarke. Medical aid was rendered. Ms. Clarke was pronounced deceased on the scene at 3:24 a.m. A knife was recovered.
The radio recordings and video footage are available here: https://njoag.box.com/s/t059mdzkldska43t4ip7g4s6a9y4u43k
A 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107a(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.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is available at this time.
Further information about how fatal police encounters are investigated in New Jersey under the Independent Prosecutor Directive can be found here:
The fatal shooting is under investigation by OPIA. The recordings are being released pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 designed to promote the fair, impartial, and transparent investigation of police use of deadly force. Representatives of Ms. Clarke’s family were given an opportunity to review the recordings prior to their public release.
TRENTON — The Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) today released radio recordings and video footage from four police body-worn cameras related to a March 16, 2026 fatal police-involved shooting in the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey Township, New Jersey. The civilian who died during the encounter had previously been identified as Susanne Clarke, 55, of Lacey.
According to the preliminary investigation, shortly after 2 a.m., four Lacey Township police officers were dispatched to Ms. Clarke’s residence on Hemlock Drive, near the intersection of Birch Road, in the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey. The officers were dispatched in response to a 911 call from Ms. Clarke in which she reported suffering from a suspected heart attack. Upon arrival at the residence, the officers encountered Ms. Clarke, who was inside of the residence and communicating from a window. Officers asked Ms. Clarke to come to the front door to speak with them. Ms. Clarke told the officers to leave her alone, and she did not come to the front door to speak with them.
The officers remained on scene and continued to tell Ms. Clarke that they needed to speak with her to ensure her well-being. EMS personnel also arrived on scene. Officers intermittently heard Ms. Clarke shouting at them to leave and observed her moving within the residence and lying on the floor.
After the officers had been on scene for approximately 30 minutes, Officer Dallas Gant looked through the home’s rear glass sliding door and stated that he observed a dog with a knife wound. Officers then attempted to enter the home by, among other things, kicking the front door. After this attempt was unsuccessful, Officer Gant began to enter the home through a side window. He immediately withdrew from the window after he observed Ms. Clarke enter the room holding a knife. Ms. Clarke then exited the residence through the rear glass sliding door with a knife in her hand and advanced toward multiple officers. Officer Gant and another officer ordered her to drop the knife. Officer Gant fired his service weapon multiple times, striking Ms. Clarke. Medical aid was rendered. Ms. Clarke was pronounced deceased on the scene at 3:24 a.m. A knife was recovered.
A 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107a(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.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is available at this time.
Further information about how fatal police encounters are investigated in New Jersey under the Independent Prosecutor Directive can be found here: