Lumberton police cleared in 2006 death of man

A Burlington County investigation has cleared Lumberton police in the 2006 death of a man during a struggle with officers, finding that their use of force was justified. The state Department of Criminal Justice concurred with those findings yesterday and agreed that the matter did not have to go before a grand jury.

The county medical examiner determined that Albert Gunter, 49, of Pemberton Township, a former Willingboro High School track coach, died from "excited delirium due to cocaine" and other factors, the prosecutor's office said.

Gunter had been staying with a relative in Lumberton. That relative called police around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 10, 2006, after Gunter had become unruly and combative and refused to leave, authorities said.

Gunter again refused to leave after officers arrived and ordered him off the property. He then struggled with officers when they tried to arrest him and he lost consciousness. He was treated at the scene and taken to Virtua Hospital Burlington County in Mount Holly, where he was pronounced dead.

- Troy Graham