On what was likely a typical Friday for 58-year-old John Gottfried, a 22-year veteran of the Newark Police Division, a routine trip to the bank during his lunch break turned into a scene of brutal violence that ended his life. On November 28, 1980, while waiting in line to cash a check, two armed men entered the bank and announced a robbery, ordering everyone to the floor.
Gottfried, a male member of the Emergency Bureau, was not in his full uniform, with a personal coat concealing his service weapon.
As the robbers, aged 16 and 27, were making their exit, Officer Gottfried took action, drawing his weapon and shooting the older suspect in the hip. The man returned fire, striking Gottfried five times. In a display of chilling cruelty, the gunman then walked over to the dying officer, shot him three more times, and was seen laughing as he kicked him.
The two suspects were apprehended two days after the deadly encounter. Investigators soon discovered that the men were associated with a Muslim sect known as the 'New World of Islam.' The following day, the 42-year-old leader who had orchestrated the robbery was also taken into custody and charged with Gottfried's murder. This group, numbering more than 20 individuals, had been implicated in a series of bank robberies over several months, the proceeds of which were intended to fund the establishment of a secluded community in South Carolina.
Within weeks, a coordinated effort by FBI agents and law enforcement agencies across New Jersey and other states resulted in the arrest of all members of the group. The man who fired the fatal shots was ultimately convicted of murder and several other offenses, receiving a life sentence. His accomplice who planned the robbery was also sentenced to life in prison. The fate of the 16-year-old involved was not publicly disclosed. Most of those arrested are serving lengthy sentences in both state and federal prisons for their various roles in the crime spree.
