What does the Fatal Encounters dataset record about this incident?

Fatal Encounters records that Keith Murray died on September 15, 2004 in Englewood, Bergen County, with "Drug overdose" 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 "Englewood Police Department, Bergen County Prosecutor's Office". 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 Englewood, Bergen County, on September 15, 2004. The address as recorded is West Street Englewood NJ 07631 Bergen.

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

Keith Murray

September 15, 2004 · Englewood, Bergen County

Details as recorded

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

Name as recorded: Keith Murray
Age as recorded: 17
Gender as recorded: Male
Race as reported: African-American/Black
Date of the injury resulting in death: September 15, 2004
Location as recorded: Englewood, Bergen CountyWest Street Englewood NJ 07631 Bergen
Highest level of force as recorded: Drug overdose

Agencies as recorded

Agency or agencies involved, as recorded: Englewood Police Department, Bergen County Prosecutor's Office

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)

Englewood Police Department
Bergen County Prosecutor's Office (no matched department page)

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 said Keith Murray was fleeing a drug sweep near Mackay Park on Sept. 15 when he swallowed cocaine he had been selling. Bergen County Police said Murray was rushed to Englewood Hospital and Medical Center shortly after his arrest, complaining that he felt ill. His stomach was pumped, and he was put on a respirator and feeding tubes. Murray died in the hospital on Sept. 28. Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said he was investigating abuse allegations but saw no signs that police had behaved inappropriately. Police reported that Murray fought with the two city officers who tried to arrest him and pull cocaine from his mouth. Murray's family alleged police brutality because Murray had scrapes and bruises.

Source reported by Fatal Encounters: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18ePdZLAn7GwyWf-OaLVRKO8I4j_Fnk1d9y5R9zcnucg/edit?usp=sharing (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 Keith Murray died on September 15, 2004 in Englewood, Bergen County, with "Drug overdose" 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 "Englewood Police Department, Bergen County Prosecutor's Office". 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 Englewood, Bergen County, on September 15, 2004. The address as recorded is West Street Englewood NJ 07631 Bergen.
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 26930. Derived from the public Fatal Encounters national dataset (coverage 2000-2021; collection ended December 2021), https://fatalencounters.org/. Retrieved July 10, 2026. ↩