Prosecutor names officer in fatal shooting of shoplifting suspect
Jim Walsh
DEPTFORD - Gloucester County Prosecutor Charles Fiore on Monday identified a township police officer who fatally shot a shoplifting suspect as she attempted to flee a local shopping center.
Fiore said "a thorough investigation" continues into the use of deadly force by Deptford Police Sgt. Kevin Clements during a June 9 incident.
The prosecutor's office has said a Deptford officer fired at an oncoming car driven by LaShanda Anderson, killing the 36-year-old Philadelphia woman.
The prosecutor's office also said it is releasing 911 calls and radio communications related to the shooting. Those calls were not immediately made available, however.
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Anderson was one of three people who fled the Marshalls store after township police were alerted to an alleged shoplifting incident there.
Authorities claim the trio had filled a suitcase with merchandise worth some $3,400.
A woman in Anderson's SUV, Chanel Barnes, 38, of Philadelphia, was arrested at the scene and charged with shoplifting.
A Philadelphia man, 43-year-old Raoul Gadson, escaped on foot after struggling with a Marshalls employee. He was arrested Wednesday in Philadelphia on charges of assault and robbery.
Marshalls employees recognized the suspects as members of an alleged retail theft ring when they entered the store, Assistant Gloucester County Prosecutor Dianna Rolando said at a court hearing for Barnes last week.
Township police then rushed to the shopping center, where two officers confronted Anderson and Barnes in a parking lot at the end of a long access lane from Clements Bridge Road.
According to the prosecutor's office, witnesses said the open door of Anderson's vehicle struck one officer and the woman then allegedly "accelerated straight at" Clements.
The 17-year officer then fired three shots at Anderson, said an account from the prosecutor's office.
"The speeding vehicle veered, narrowly missing the officer," it said. Anderson's vehicle "continued across the parking lot and down onto the access road exiting the parking lot, where it subsequently came to rest."
Fiore said an investigation into the shooting will observe "stringent guidelines" from the state Attorney General's Office.
"This office will release its findings to the public at the appropriate time," Fiore said. He said that would come after the completion of its investigation, which involves additional witness interviews and the analysis of forensic evidence."
The Gloucester County chapter of the NAACP has called for the Attorney General's Office to take part in the investigation into Anderson's "troubling and disturbing" death.
Jim Walsh: @jimwalsh_cp; 856-486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com
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