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On July 6, 2025, at about 12:05 a.m., three people were riding motorized scooters near State Street and High Street in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Perth Amboy Police Lieutenant Jose M. Pais was in a marked police vehicle and tried to stop the group.

Pais activated his overhead lights and siren. Two riders kept going and left the area. Joseph E. Acevedo-Rodriguez, 26, of Elizabeth, initially pulled over on the shoulder of State Street, then accelerated northbound at a high rate of speed.

Pais followed the moped until they crossed into Woodbridge. He then turned off his lights and siren, made a U-turn, and returned to Perth Amboy.

A short time later, Woodbridge police responded to multiple 911 calls about a crash about a quarter mile north on State Street, between Arbor and Ferry streets. Officers found Acevedo-Rodriguez lying in the road, with the moped some distance away.

Acevedo-Rodriguez had 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 going at high speed on a curved road when he lost control. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A state grand jury finished deliberating on April 27, 2026, and voted "no bill," with no criminal charges filed against Lieutenant Pais.

Listen to the 911 calls and dispatch audio for this incident here.