Bayonne man dies after police use pepper spray in area

BAYONNE – A city man died on Tuesday afternoon after an incident in which several individuals were fighting and police pepper-sprayed the area.
On Tuesday, police responded to the area of 17th Street and Avenue C because of a major fight there at about 4 p.m. Police tried to quell the disturbance involving 20 to 30 people, mostly high school students, but could not, according to the report. They pepper sprayed the crowd in the apartment building vestibule at 403 Avenue C to disperse those involved, according to Deputy Police Chief Drew Niekrasz.
Peter Lee Williams, 51, of Bayonne, was standing outside the entryway of the building where police released the spray, and he collapsed.
The cause of death has not yet been determined, an article said. An autopsy was expected to be performed on Wednesday.
According to Niekrasz, there is “no indication at this point that there was an altercation with police at the scene that resulted in his death,” according to the story.
The story said that the man have been a relative of one of the young people in the fight.
Officers tried to assist Williams after he collapsed, and he was then taken to a nearby hospital. He was pronounced dead at 5:31 p.m., according to police.
No one has been arrested in connection to the fight and the cause of the incident is still under investigation, the report quoted Niekrasz as saying.