January 29, 2021
Published by: Tyler Eckel
The Attorney General’s Office today released video footage which captured events surrounding a single-vehicle accident in which Keron Roundtree, 23, of Trenton, N.J., was injured when he sped away from Bordentown Township Police Officer Keith Alexander after an attempted traffic stop on Oct. 27, 2020. Mr. Roundtree succumbed to those injuries on November 17, 2020, at which time the investigation transferred from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office to the Attorney General’s Office, pursuant to P.L. 2019, c.1.
Video recordings from the officer’s body-worn camera and vehicular mobile video recorder are being released pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 that are designed to promote the fair, impartial and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters. Prior to today’s release, investigators met with Mr. Roundtree’s relatives to review the video recordings with them.
On the night of Oct. 27, Officer Alexander was on patrol on Route 206 Southbound in a marked police vehicle when he saw a Nissan Maxima traveling southbound in the left lane brake abruptly. The car, which was driven by Mr. Roundtree, resumed traveling southbound. Officer Alexander then followed Mr. Roundtree and observed him commit several motor vehicle infractions.
At approximately 8:51 p.m., about two minutes after he began following Mr. Roundtree’s car, Officer Alexander activated his overhead lights and siren to make a motor vehicle stop. At that point, Mr. Roundtree’s car sped off, traveling at speeds that reached in excess of 110 mph. Approximately one minute later, and without coming into contact with another car, Mr. Roundtree’s car crashed into a wooded area on the right side of Rt. 206. His car traveled into and out of the woods, coming to rest on the right shoulder of Route 206 Southbound.
Officer Alexander exited his vehicle and located Mr. Roundtree’s car. The car, which was heavily damaged, contained two occupants: Mr. Roundtree and an adult male passenger. Two bystanders assisted Officer Alexander in removing and rendering aid to both. Once ambulances arrived, the occupants of the Nissan Maxima were transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, N.J. Mr. Roundtree remained in the hospital until his death on Nov. 17, 2020. The passenger was admitted for treatment and later released.
The video recordings from Officer Alexander’s body-worn camera and the mobile video recorder in his police vehicle are posted online: Click here for recordings.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.
This investigation is being conducted pursuant to a state law enacted in January 2019 (P.L. 2019, c.1), which requires that the Attorney General’s Office conduct all investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. Separately, the Independent Prosecutor Directive, which was issued by Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal in December 2019, outlines a 10-step process for conducting these investigations. The Directive establishes clear procedures governing such investigations to ensure that they are conducted in a full, impartial and transparent manner. Under both state law and the Directive, when the entire investigation is complete, the case will be presented to a grand jury, typically consisting of 16 to 23 citizens, to make the ultimate decision regarding whether criminal charges will be filed. At present due to the COVID-19 pandemic, regular grand juries are not sitting and hearing cases.
File photo by Tyler Eckel