Special Police Officer Dwayne Anthony Reeves

Dwayne Anthony Reeves

Special Police Officer Dwayne Reeves was shot and killed as he and his partner approached a car outside of Weequahic High School at approximately 2:00 p.m.

The officers had just broken up a fight between two female students and were talking with the girls when two men, one of whom was the brother of one of the girls, pulled up in a car and opened fire, striking Officer Reeves in the head and Officer Reeves' partner in the hand. Officer Reeves' partner was able to return fire and shot one of the suspects in the stomach.

Officer Reeves was taken to University Hospital, where he died from his wounds.

The suspect who was shot in the stomach was taken into custody shortly after the shooting but wasn't arrested until the following day. On October 15, 2007, the suspect was found guilty of reckless manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was convicted of four other charges relating to the incident, which added 20 additional years to his sentence. He was paroled in 2019.
Another suspect was acquitted of murder but found guilty of other charges and sentenced to ten years. In 2019, he was murdered in another unrelated criminal incident.

Officer Reeves had served with the Newark Police Division for three years and was assigned to the Newark School District. He also worked a second job with the Newark Housing Authority Police for a total of four years. He was survived by his wife and several children.