N.J. town pays $450K to family of man killed by cop after 911 call

Police shoot homeowner who called 911

In an image from a police body cam released by the state Attorney General's office, Charles Sharp III can be seen just before a Mantua Township officer opened fire on the homeowner who had called 911 to report an armed intruder on his property.NJ Attorney General's office

A Gloucester County town’s insurance carrier has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the estate of a resident who called 911 before he was shot to death by a police officer.

Charles Sharp III, 49, called 911 around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 14, 2021, to report that armed intruders on his Mantua Township property were breaking into a shed and vehicle.

The first officer who responded to the scene reported that Sharp pointed a firearm at him when he pulled up to the man’s Elm Avenue residence, according to court documents.

The officer ordered Sharp to put down the gun and pulled his patrol vehicle forward to evade the man, documents and 911 audio released in the case revealed.

Seconds later, Mantua Officer Salvatore Oldrati pulled up to the scene. Oldrati exited his vehicle and was alerted by the first officer that Sharp was armed.

Oldrati fired 13 rounds at Sharp, including 10 that struck him. The officer said Sharp pointed the gun at him, but the state Attorney General’s office said body camera footage didn’t support that claim.

The gun Sharp was holding turned out to be a replica, investigators later learned.

A state grand jury returned an indictment in 2023 charging Oldrati with second-degree manslaughter. The case is ongoing.

In a statement, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Oldrati opened fire on Sharp within five seconds of exiting his vehicle and failed to give the man any verbal commands to drop the weapon.

Mantua Police shooting

This was the investigation scene on Elm Avenue in Mantua Township hours after Officer Salvatore Oldrati shot resident Charles Sharp III in 2021.(File Photo)

In the 2023 state Superior Court lawsuit, Kathleen Burgo, mother of Sharp’s juvenile son, claimed Oldrati fired without justification. Sharp never raised the gun or “utilized the weapon in a threatening manner,” the lawsuit said.

The family also said Sharp “suffered greatly before losing consciousness and dying” after he was shot.

The suit, which named Oldrati and the township as defendants, claimed excessive force in violation of the New Jersey Civil Rights Act and wrongful death. It sought financial compensation, including for medical and funeral expenses.

Under terms of the lawsuit settlement, which was signed last month, the Tri-County Joint Insurance Fund and Municipal Excess Liability Fund agreed to pay Sharp’s estate $450,000 on behalf of Mantua Township and Oldrati.

The defendants admitted no wrongdoing in the case, according to the agreement terms.

Nearly $242,920 will be paid to Burgo, who is administrator of Sharp’s estate, and $207,080 will go to the law firm that represented the plaintiffs.

“We are glad for the sake of the family that, with this settlement, they can put a traumatic and tragic event behind them,” said Kevin M. Costello, attorney for the family.

Representatives for Mantua Township did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Oldrati’s lawyer in the criminal case, Christopher St. John, has challenged several aspects of the state’s prosecution.

Officers responding to the scene found no evidence that any intruders had been on Sharp’s property as he claimed in the 911 call, St. John said.

While Sharp told the dispatcher during the call that he had a gun in his possession, that information was never passed along to responding officers, Oldrati’s lawyer said. That meant the officers didn’t know if the man holding the gun was an intruder or the homeowner.

In a letter to the Attorney General’s office, Oldrati’s lawyer pointed to statements Sharp’s family members allegedly made to investigators after the shooting, including comments about his recent “erratic behavior” and that he had “battled with sobriety.”

Sharp’s toxicology report, obtained by NJ Advance Media in response to an Open Public Records Act request, revealed methamphetamine, amphetamine and the metabolite for cocaine in his system.

Sharp was a veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force for more than 20 years.

Oldrati was cleared to go back to work a month after the shooting and was promoted to corporal in 2022. The indictment followed in May 2023.

He remains suspended from the police force as he awaits trial.

Salvatore Oldrati

Mantua Township Police Officer Salvatore Oldrati is charged in the 2021 shooting death of a Charles Sharp III.(Provided Photo)

Stories by Matt Gray

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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.

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