What does the Fatal Encounters dataset record about this incident?

Fatal Encounters records that James J. O'Neill died on August 29, 2011 in North Cape May, Cape May County, with "Stabbed" as the highest level of force. Fatal Encounters is an independent, crowdsourced dataset of deaths that occurred during police encounters of any kind; a record is not a finding of fault or misconduct.

Which agency or agencies were recorded as involved?

The record's agency field reads "Lower Township Police Department". Presence in that field means the agency appears in the record as reported, nothing more; it is not a claim of fault or responsibility by any officer or agency.

Where did this happen?

The record places the death in North Cape May, Cape May County, on August 29, 2011. The address as recorded is 600 block Wayne Ave. North Cape May NJ 08204 Cape May.

Does this record mean police caused or were at fault for this death?

No. Fatal Encounters documented deaths that occurred during police encounters of any kind, including vehicle pursuits and crashes, suicides that occurred in police presence, and medical emergencies. This record documents that a death occurred during an encounter; it is not a finding of fault, misconduct, or wrongdoing, and it has no connection to the discipline records elsewhere on this site.

Fatal Encounters record · Independent third-party dataset

James J. O'Neill

August 29, 2011 · North Cape May, Cape May County

Details as recorded

Every value below is shown exactly as Fatal Encounters recorded it.^[1]

Name as recorded: James J. O'Neill
Age as recorded: 20
Gender as recorded: Male
Race as reported: European-American/White
Date of the injury resulting in death: August 29, 2011
Location as recorded: North Cape May, Cape May County600 block Wayne Ave. North Cape May NJ 08204 Cape May
Highest level of force as recorded: Stabbed

Agencies as recorded

Agency or agencies involved, as recorded: Lower Township Police Department

An agency appears here because it appears in the record's as-reported agency field, nothing more. Its presence is not a claim of fault or responsibility.

Department pages (matched by this site at high confidence)

Lower Township Police Department

The source's account

Fatal Encounters' description of the incident, verbatim. This is the source project's own third-party narrative, not this site's reporting.

Police responded to a 911 call from a resident of Wayne Avenue who reported that O'Neill was in the process breaking into a residence. Police saw O'Neill with lacerations of the arms, a broken window and blood at the front of the property. Lower Township Rescue was also requested to respond due to the fact that O'Neill had previous police contacts for mental health related issues. Police apprehended O'Neil who resisted the initial responding officer's commands and attempts to restrain him. O'Neill was eventually handcuffed, and as he was being examined, he lost consciousness and died.

Source reported by Fatal Encounters: http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/crime/erma/75789-burglary+suspect+dies+during+arrest (external link, as recorded in the dataset).

If you are a family member of the person named here, or represent one, and something in this record is wrong, or you want the record removed, requests go through the corrections page. Every request is checked against the source record.

This record is one of the dataset's New Jersey entries from 2000 to 2021. Browse every New Jersey Fatal Encounters record by year.

Questions and answers

What does the Fatal Encounters dataset record about this incident?: Fatal Encounters records that James J. O'Neill died on August 29, 2011 in North Cape May, Cape May County, with "Stabbed" as the highest level of force. Fatal Encounters is an independent, crowdsourced dataset of deaths that occurred during police encounters of any kind; a record is not a finding of fault or misconduct.
Which agency or agencies were recorded as involved?: The record's agency field reads "Lower Township Police Department". Presence in that field means the agency appears in the record as reported, nothing more; it is not a claim of fault or responsibility by any officer or agency.
Where did this happen?: The record places the death in North Cape May, Cape May County, on August 29, 2011. The address as recorded is 600 block Wayne Ave. North Cape May NJ 08204 Cape May.
Does this record mean police caused or were at fault for this death?: No. Fatal Encounters documented deaths that occurred during police encounters of any kind, including vehicle pursuits and crashes, suicides that occurred in police presence, and medical emergencies. This record documents that a death occurred during an encounter; it is not a finding of fault, misconduct, or wrongdoing, and it has no connection to the discipline records elsewhere on this site.

Sources

[1]Fatal Encounters, New Jersey subset. Fatal Encounters (fatalencounters.org). Row 18219. Derived from the public Fatal Encounters national dataset (coverage 2000-2021; collection ended December 2021), https://fatalencounters.org/. Retrieved July 10, 2026. ↩