On the evening of April 10, 1990, 16-year-old Phillip Pannell was shot and killed during a police encounter in Teaneck, New Jersey. Officers Wayne Blanco and Gary Spath had responded to a report of a teenager with a gun and encountered a group of teens that included Pannell. Police say Pannell fled when they attempted to frisk him; Officer Spath pursued and later shot Pannell, who was struck in the back and died at a local hospital. A .22 caliber pistol was reportedly found in Pannell’s jacket pocket.

Eyewitnesses gave a sharply different account, saying Pannell had his hands raised in surrender when he was shot. The Bergen County Medical Examiner’s initial autopsy was reported to support the officers’ account, but a second autopsy by the state medical examiner concluded Pannell’s hands were raised when the fatal bullet struck him. Officer Spath was indicted for reckless manslaughter and tried in 1992; a jury acquitted him. The family later settled a civil rights suit with the township of Teaneck for $200,000.

Does anyone with memories of Teaneck in 1990 or knowledge of the case have details that shed further light on the differing witness and medical findings?