By: Richard L. Smith
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has released surveillance video connected to a fatal vehicle crash involving a police officer that occurred last fall in Middletown, authorities said.
According to the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, the footage relates to an October 10, 2025 collision on State Route 36 that resulted in the death of Henry Phillips Jr., 73, of Atlantic Highlands.
The incident remains under active investigation by OPIA.
Officials said the video is being made public under transparency guidelines adopted by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019, which require the release of recordings connected to fatal police encounters.
Representatives of Phillips’ family were allowed to view the footage before its public release.
Preliminary findings indicate that at approximately 1:00 p.m., Officer Timothy Funk of the Atlantic Highlands Police Department was operating a marked patrol vehicle on Orchard Avenue and had stopped at a red light at the intersection with Route 36.
Investigators say Phillips was riding an e-bike southbound in the northbound lanes of Route 36 when the collision occurred after the officer made a right turn on red.
Phillips was airlifted from the scene to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he later died on October 19, 2025, authorities confirmed.
The crash took place in Middletown.
Officials emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and that no final conclusions have yet been reached regarding the circumstances of the collision.
The surveillance recording has been made available online by the Attorney General’s Office as part of the public disclosure process.