What does the Fatal Encounters dataset record about this incident?

Fatal Encounters records that Paul Braswell died on September 26, 2018 in Newark, Essex County, with "Gunshot" 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 "Newark Police Department, Essex County Sheriff'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 Newark, Essex County, on September 26, 2018. The address as recorded is Bergen St and Lyons Ave Newark NJ 07112 Essex.

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

Paul Braswell

September 26, 2018 · Newark, Essex County

Details as recorded

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

Name as recorded: Paul Braswell
Age as recorded: 29
Gender as recorded: Male
Race as reported: African-American/Black
Date of the injury resulting in death: September 26, 2018
Location as recorded: Newark, Essex CountyBergen St and Lyons Ave Newark NJ 07112 Essex
Highest level of force as recorded: Gunshot

Agencies as recorded

Agency or agencies involved, as recorded: Newark Police Department, Essex County Sheriff'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)

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 officers were investigating Paul Braswell, 29, and Philip Belton, 39, for alleged illegal weapons dealing. Police followed the pair as they completed several alleged gun sales from a pickup truck. After the third sale, several police vehicles moved in to block Braswell and Belton at an intersection. Belton, who was driving, panicked and jammed it into reverse, hitting an officer and a vehicle blocking his rearward escape. Belton then went forward, hitting the officer and the car in front of him. At this point, eight officers began firing into the pickup truck a total of 74 times. Belton was hit 10 times but survived. Braswell was killed. Police alleged vehicular assault. All officers cleared of criminal wrongdoing. The Braswell family has filed excessive force civil lawsuit.

Source reported by Fatal Encounters: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/newark/sections/police-and-fire/articles/newark-family-suing-essex-county-sheriff-s-department-after-officers-fired-74-times-into-car (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 Paul Braswell died on September 26, 2018 in Newark, Essex County, with "Gunshot" 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 "Newark Police Department, Essex County Sheriff'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 Newark, Essex County, on September 26, 2018. The address as recorded is Bergen St and Lyons Ave Newark NJ 07112 Essex.
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 6365. Derived from the public Fatal Encounters national dataset (coverage 2000-2021; collection ended December 2021), https://fatalencounters.org/. Retrieved July 10, 2026. ↩