[chris]

At about 12:05 a.m. on July 6, 2025, Perth Amboy Police Lieutenant Jose M. Pais was driving a marked police vehicle in the area of State Street and High Street in Perth Amboy when he attempted to stop three people operating motorized scooters.

Lieutenant Pais activated his overhead lights and siren. Two riders continued and left the scene. Joseph E. Acevedo-Rodriguez, 26, of Elizabeth, initially pulled onto the shoulder of State Street, then accelerated northbound at a high rate of speed.

Lieutenant Pais followed until the vehicles crossed into Woodbridge, then turned off his lights and siren, made a U-turn, and returned to Perth Amboy. Shortly afterward, about a quarter mile north on State Street between Arbor and Ferry streets, Woodbridge officers were sent to multiple 911 calls reporting a motor vehicle crash.

Officers found Acevedo-Rodriguez lying in the road, with the moped some distance away. The crash investigation found that he struck a curb and a nearby chain-link fence before returning to the roadway and being ejected from the motor scooter. An eyewitness reported he was traveling at high speed on a curved road when he lost control.

Acevedo-Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene. A state grand jury voted "no bill" and no criminal charges were filed against Lieutenant Pais.

Watch the video of this incident here.