Sergeant Donald P. Carroll

Donald P. Carroll

Sergeant Donald Carroll was shot and killed by an emotionally disturbed man.

He was flagged down by a man who told him he had just been accosted by a naked subject running through the streets. Seconds later the naked man appeared and began banging on the windshield of Sergeant Carroll's patrol car. As Sergeant Carroll exited his car, the man attacked him, gaining control of his nightstick and hitting Sergeant Carroll with it. The man was then able to gain control of Sergeant Carroll's service weapon near the intersection of Wegman Parkway and Martin Luther King Drive.

Sergeant Carroll and several other citizens ran into a nearby grocery store where he held his body against the door in an attempt to stop the gunman from entering while shielding the civilians from any gunfire. After unsuccessfully attempting to enter the store, the suspect opened fire, striking Sergeant Carroll several times in the chest, killing him.

The suspect then stole Sergeant Carroll's patrol car, but immediately crashed it into a parked car. As he exited the patrol car, he was shot and killed by responding officers.

Sergeant Carroll had served with the Jersey City Police Department for 24 years. He is survived by his wife.

Sergeant Carroll's father, Patrolman James Carroll, was also killed in the line of duty in 1934 while serving with the same agency.