ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) - Authorities say an off-duty Elizabeth police detective was justified in opening fire during an altercation with an armed man who was urinating outside a restaurant.
The Union County prosecutor’s office said Thursday that Det. Darin Williamson was justified when he fired two shots when he realized 21-year-old Luis Ruiz-Chicaz had a loaded handgun in Elizabeth in March 2016.
Prosecutors say that Williamson was off duty when the restaurant owner told him that someone was urinating on the building. They say Ruiz-Chicaz turned around with a pistol after Williamson identified himself.
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They say his gun went off during a struggle and that he fired again after someone else tried to grab his gun from the ground. No one was hurt.
Ruiz-Chicaz pleaded guilty in December to weapons charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.
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