Corporal Salvatore Oldrati is from Mantua Township Police Department, Gloucester County, New Jersey, who has fully dedicated his life to protecting and serving the residents of his community. Corporal Oldrati was the recipient of the 2019 VFW Officer of the Year Award and the recipient of the 2022 Department Officer of the Year Award. He was promoted to Corporal in September of 2022 (after being cleared to return to work by law enforcement, following the critical incident). He has also earned one Meritorious Service Award, three Exemplary Performance Awards, and two Life-Saving Awards, in which he saved his partner’s life after being shot in the line of duty in Camden, New Jersey, in 2017.

The incident 

During the early morning hours of September 14, 2021, Mantua Township Police received a 911 call for a report of a burglary in progress involving two suspects, dispatch advised officers one of the suspects was in the front yard trying to enter a vehicle and one suspect was in the backyard trying to enter a shed. Dispatch further reported one suspect being armed with a handgun and did not provide any additional info to the responding officers. Corporal Robert Layton arrived first on the scene and was confronted by a man armed with a gun on the sidewalk near the front drive (later determined to be the caller/homeowner). At that point the armed man pointed the gun at Corporal Layton.  Corporal Layton gave loud and clear verbal commands to the suspect to drop his weapon which were ignored (911 audio). Corporal Oldrati was then confronted by the same male, who was now pointing the gun at him.  At that point Corporal Oldrati had no other recourse but to make a split-second judgement call to stop the suspect’s threat in order to protect his own life along with Corporal Layton’s.  Furthermore, a .45 caliber handgun was recovered next the body of the individual who pointed the gun at the officers. Corporal Oldrati than began life-saving measures on the suspect. He was transported to the local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Shortly after the shooting, an investigation was completed by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and New Jersey State Police Shooting Response Team, this is a normal protocol in compliance with state policy. Once the investigation was completed, Corporal Oldrati was cleared to return to work just weeks later in October 2021. Corporal Oldrati was cleared by law enforcement officials following this critical incident, his actions were deemed lawful and justifiable. According to the Mantua Township Use of Force Policy, Volume 1 Chapter 12, pages 7 through 10 states; “The officer(s) shall not return to regular duty until approval has been granted by the Chief of Police.  This decision will be made through consultation with representatives of the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office, NJ Attorney General’s Office and the officer(s)involved.”

In May of 2023, twenty months after returning to full patrol duty, getting promoted to Corporal and receiving Officer of the year for a second time, Corporal Oldrati was wrongfully indicted and accused of 2nd Degree Reckless Manslaughter by the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA). The OPIA has the power not to pursue an indictment based on their own AG directive, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Section VIII Dismissals on State’s Motion: Section A: Indictment lacking probable cause to support criminal charges. Almost two years after the incident, Corporal Oldrati was wrongfully indicted by a manipulated grand jury with exculpatory evidence withheld during the presentation.  If there was any reason to believe Corporal Oldrati was reckless or at fault, he wouldn’t have been permitted to return to work and immediately arrested.

Corporal Oldrati’s family, friends, and law enforcement communities, are rallying together in support requesting anyone that can to help stand up and rectify these egregious abuses by the OPIA. We are hoping to raise funds for Corporal Salvatore Oldrati due to his trial dragging out into 2025. Sal is an amazing husband, father, grandson, son, nephew, brother, cousin and friend of many.

We look forward to your support!