A state grand jury voted not to file criminal charges against an Atlantic City officer in a collision that killed a bicyclist last year.
Officer Ahmed Waqar was responding to a routine service call in a marked patrol vehicle when Everett Stern collided with the driver’s side of the police vehicle at about 8:30 p.m. June 18, 2021, according to the investigation.
Waqar did not have on his lights or siren, but did have the green light as he went north on Arkansas Avenue.
Stern, 63, was heading east on Arctic.
The officer immediately called for emergency medical personnel and rendered aid to Stern, according to the investigation. He was taken by ambulance to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s City Campus, where he died a week later.
The crash was investigated by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability and presented to the grand jury last week.
The investigation included interviews with witnesses, forensic evidence, autopsy results and video from the scene, which was also made public pursuant to policies established in 2019 that are designed to promote the fair, impartial and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters.
The case is not over, however.
The city’s attorney recently responded to the suit, saying it should be dismissed and asking for an extension in the case.
