NJ Shooting Victim’s Family Awarded $2.2-Million

A jury has awarded nearly $2.2 million to the family of a Ramapough Indian fatally shot during a confrontation with a park ranger.

Emil Mann's family claimed the ranger, Chad Walder, used unnecessary force when he shot him in Mahwah in April 2006. But Walder said he acted in self-defense after a fellow Ramapough tribe member attacked another officer.

Mann died nine days after the shooting. Walder was later charged with reckless manslaughter, but was acquitted in 2009. Mann's family then filed their suit, and the Bergen County jury returned its verdict Monday.

Walder was the suit's only defendant. But the state's Tort Claims Act would allow Mann's family to collect the judgment from the state because it employed Walder.

Walder's attorney declined to comment on the verdict.

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