Hudson County sheriff's officer dies after falling through window in Jersey City, prosecutor's office says
A Hudson County sheriff's officer died Friday after falling through a window at an administrative building in Jersey City.
The circumstances Officer Justin Rivera's fall appeared to be accidental, the Hudson County Prosecutor's office said.
Officer falls to death from 9th floor window
Rivera, 29, fell from a ninth floor window around 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Hudson County Administration Building on Newark Avenue, the prosecutor's office said. He was taken to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Rivera, a former police officer in Bayonne, was on duty at the time, but the building was not open to the public due to an unrelated power outage, the prosecutor's office said.
Hudson County Executive Craig Guy released a statement about Rivera's death, saying, "I would like to express my condolences to the family of the Hudson County Sheriff's Officer who tragically passed away. My prayers also go out to the Hudson County Sheriff and all the Sheriff's Officers, who lost a dedicated brother today."
"Saw a guy coming straight down"
Witnesses on the street below described hearing the glass shatter and then hearing the body hit the ground. They said police quickly came out of the building and started administering CPR.
"I heard glass shatter and then immediately looked up, and saw a guy coming straight down," witness Steve Roosen said. "I saw the officers perform CPR, maybe, three times, and then just stop."
Roosen said when he looked up in the moments after, he saw two heads in the window frame.
"Saw two heads looking down, as everyone was coming to the scene," he said.
Eleni Vittas said she was helping her 91-year-old mother into her car when she heard a loud bang. She added the officer was not in uniform.
"My first thought was maybe there was scaffolding and somebody fell off, because I thought I heard [a groan], like that sort of thing. I looked up, and there was broken window from the building," Vittas said. "I ran over to see if somebody had fallen, and there was somebody on the ground."
"I was sitting outside this morning on a coffee break, and suddenly I see just a lot of police officers around, and I saw, it looks like, somebody jumped from the ninth floor," said witness Adriano Silva, going on to say, "It's crazy, I've never seen anything like this in my life."
Bayonne community mourns loss of Justin Rivera
Rivera was a father and a boxing coach.
Friends gathered Friday outside Rivera's family-owned martial arts studio in Bayonne, where a sign posted on the door read, "Family Emergency! Closed till Monday!" A memorial was growing on the sidewalk outside.
Devin Ortiz trained with Rivera.
"I'm in shock. I'm just in shock," he said. "Phenomenal athlete himself. He was a Golden Gloves champ, and he was a great coach, a great mentor."
"It's sad that this happened to him. It's very sad," friend Noa Ramos said. "He was training very diligently to try to protect us in this community."
Ramos added, "He's a amazing, amazing man. He was a phenomenal coach to all of us. He loved us all here."
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis wrote in a statement: "We are all heartbroken over the tragic loss of life of one of Bayonne's protectors Justin Rivera. Justin, an officer with the Hudson County Sheriff's Office, a former Bayonne Police Officer, and father, died while on duty in Jersey City this morning. Justin's commitment to the public safety of our community and his devotion to his daughter Rayne will be his legacy, which we will never forget. Our entire city is mourning with Justin's entire family, his friends, and the law enforcement community."
