The Alternative Press

PATERSON, NJ - Authorities identified the off-duty Newark police officer who was shot and killed during a robbery in Paterson eary Monday morning as Det. Michael Morgan Jr. and said rewards totalling $25,000 have been offered for the capture of his killer.

Morgan was talking with a dancer outside a 2nd Ward go-go bar, the Sunrise Gentlemen's Club at 3:10 am, just after closing time, when the gunman approached them and demanded their money, said Lt. Ron Humphrey. The gunman took cash from the woman and fired one shot that killed Morgan, police said.

Morgan, 32, was armed but it was not clear whether he attempted to stop the robbery or identified himself as a police officer. Officials said there had not been a scuffle between the officer and the victim, despite earlier reports that there had been.

Paterson police were investigating another robbery three blocks away at Getty and Elizabeth Street when they received reports of the shooting, officials said. The Paterson police found the wounded officer and rushed him to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, which is just across the street, where he was pronounced dead. The woman, who some reports identified as a dancer at the club, was unhurt.

The fatal shooting has put Paterson in regional news reports on a day city officials hoped to make headlines for something positive - a press conference featuring the of a an agreement to creat the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park.