Monmouth SWAT Team cleared in fatal Middletown shooting

The Monmouth SWAT team shooting of a Middletown man after a more than five-hour standoff last May is justified, according to findings by investigators in the office of acting New Jersey Attorney General John J. Hoffman.

Scott McAllister, 39, was killed after an apparently drunken rampage in which police said he threatened his girlfriend and a neighbor, brandished a knife by his 13-month-old son, threatened police, and held them at bay outside his house.

The Attorney General's Shooting Response Team concluded that "...presentation of the police-involved shooting to a grand jury was not required under the directive, because the undisputed facts showed that the use of force was justified under the law. The investigation included witness interviews, forensic analysis of the scene, an autopsy and other evidence," according to statements issued today.

Members of the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team spent several hours trying to coax McAllister from his house before rushing the door at about 4:18 AM on May 27.

According to investigators, the incident began unfolding at about 11 PM the night before with response by local police to a domestic disturbance call placed by a neighbor of McAllister's girlfriend. The neighbor reported that she had been assaulted and ran from the Bayside Parkway dwelling, leaving their baby with McAllister.

In a followup 911 call before police arrived, the neighbor reported that McAllister left a gasoline can at her door and said, "I have something for you," which she interpreted as a threat to burn her house. McAllister's girlfriend told police that he was intoxicated and had beaten her.

McAllister locked himself and the baby inside before police arrived, prompting the summoning of the county SWAT team. Investigators said that as they assembled, McAllister called 911 to warn that he would "put bullets in heads" and that "people were going to die" if they didn't retreat.

From that point forward, the only consistent communication with McAllister was via texts from his personal phone, investigators said. Among his messages, according to authorities, were "Any force will be met with force," and "If you want to go home to your family you will leave now, in my house I kill."

Investigators said that McAllister was also seen tapping a large knife against a window facing the street, and later threw a beer bottle in the direction of several officers with warnings to "get off my property" and "get the big truck, you're going to need it."

Sensing growing hostility from McAllister and growing increasingly concerned about the infant's safety, SWAT team members broke in through the front door and also retrieving the youngster from a bedroom by ladder.

Authorities said that the officer assigned to enter the bedroom and protect the baby was still on the ladder and looking through the window when McAllister appeared in the doorway with what he described as a "deranged" look, holding a large knife like a sword and brandishing it as if to slash with it or throw it at the officer.

Ignoring several commands to drop the knife and stop advancing, McAllister approached the window with what the officer described as a "stutter step," which he interpreted as preparation to attack him, at which point he fired his service rifle twice, investigators said.

With the infant in their custody, officers confirmed that McAllister was dead and noted two knives, eight inches and six inches in length, near his body.

The officer who fired the fatal rounds told investigators that he was aware of the likelihood of weapons including firearms, fishing gear and carpentry tools in the house; that McAllister had reportedly threatened his girlfriend, their neighbor and law enforcement; and that he feared for the safety of the child, fellow officers and himself when he discharged his weapon.

His account was corroborated by his partner in the protection assignment, and autopsy results affirmed it, investigators said.