Police body cam video shows South Jersey officer fatally shooting a man holding what appears to be a knife

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has released body cam video showing the fatal shooting of a 46-year-old Pennsauken man by a South Jersey police officer late last year.

In the video, made public Friday, Keith Edelin can be seen carrying what appears to be a knife in the stairwell of a Haddon Township apartment complex early on Nov. 3, 2024.

Edelin does not comply with repeated commands to “drop the knife” and is seen advancing down the stairs toward Officer Luke Falkenberg, who is just a few feet away.

Falkenberg fires four shots and Edelin collapses.

Edelin was transported to Cooper University Hospital, where he died about an hour later.

The incident remains under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.

In the released audio of the 911 call, a woman tells the call taker that an unidentified man opened the door to her apartment. The woman said she closed it, but the man was still in the hallway.

“There’s a lot of little old ladies that live in this building,” the woman said in the 911 call.

Representatives of Edelin’s family were given an opportunity to review the recordings before their public release, the AG’s office said.

In the body cam video, four Haddon Township officers respond to the apartment complex on West Crystal Lake Avenue in the township’s Westmont section and Falkenberg and another officer take the elevator to an upper floor. The other two officers stay on the ground floor to watch the front and back entrances.

Exiting the elevator, Falkenberg can be seen proceeding cautiously down a hallway to the stairwell, where there are drops of blood on the floor leading up the stairs.

The officer and his partner start to move up the stairs when they encounter Edelin and both officers can be heard loudly commanding him to “drop the knife.”

They repeatedly say they are there to help, and the other officer says, “Obviously you’re going through something, we’re here to help you, just put the knife down.”

Edelin responds several times, “Help with what?’

Falkenberg then says “You’re hurt, let us help you,” apparently referring to an injury that left the blood trail.

“My name’s Luke,” Falkenberg offers.

Edelin, still holding the weapon, advances down the stairs toward Falkenberg, who then shoots.

The officers, who had been interacting with Edelin for almost two minutes before the shots were fired, render aid and the video ends.

Prosecutors said a knife was recovered at the scene and the officers were not injured.