Chief to present findings of probe into protest clash
STAMFORD — The police chief is expected Monday to present findings of an internal affairs investigation into an early August demonstration that resulted in altercations between police officers and protesters and the arrest of six people.
Police Chief Tim Shaw, who will make the presentation to the Stamford Police Commission, said this week he would not “prematurely” comment about the findings of the investigation.
Several protesters and police officers were injured in the incident. Leaders of the protest group did not respond to a request for comment this week or declined to speak.
Greenwich attorney Philip Russell, who is representing four of the protesters who were arrested, indicated the matter could go beyond the city’s investigation.
“Not withstanding the fact that the internal affairs investigation concluded favorably for the officers, there are still questions, and we think those questions will be examined more fully
in court,” Russell said.
This summer, as activists mobilized around the state and the nation to protest police-involved killings and violence against Black people, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake, a local group, Justice for Steven Barrier, similarly began holding protests.
Barrier, 23, died in Stamford police custody on Oct. 23, 2019 following a foot chase with officers. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said there was no evidence of use of force by police and determined that Barrier died of a heart attack. An investigation by the state’s attorney’s office did not find the police at fault in Barrier’s death.
But Barrier’s family and the protesters rejected the findings and called on the officers involved to be disciplined. At the least, they said, the officers who arrested Barrier should have gotten him immediate medical attention instead of taking him to police headquarters on the night he died. When officers caught up to Barrier, he was unable to walk and had to be carried to a police cruiser.
Stamford Mayor David Martin and police officials have said they stand by the findings of the state investigation that found Barrier died of natural causes.
Tensions between police and Justice for Steven Barrier protesters grew with successive demonstrations, including an encampment by the group in a downtown park.
On Aug. 8, police and protesters clashed on Broad Street following a march and demonstration at police headquarters.
The city on Dec. 18, released 71 body camera videos from the day of the incident.
The clips start out benign. In the first, a police officer is seen outside Home Depot, asking protesters to follow certain rules and offering to assist them throughout the demonstration should they need it.
In later videos, particularly after the demonstration at police headquarters, protesters and police verbally confront each other. In one video, an officer in a police vehicle appears to mimic the protesters, repeating the common refrain, “No Justice, No Peace,” causing another officer outside the vehicle to laugh.
Portions of the often chaotic Broad Street videos show physical confrontations, including officers shoving protesters or bringing them to the ground.
By the end of the protest, six people were arrested, and officers and demonstrators alike claimed injuries.
One woman, a wellknown local activist, is not part of the Barrier group but said she was there to try to help keep the peace when she was knocked over by an officer.
Jere Eaton, who once served as chair of the Mayor’s Multicultural Council, said she wants the city to pay for medical expenses for injuries she incurred in the incident.
Body camera footage shows a police officer arriving at the scene and running toward a group of people standing on Broad Street. The officers appears to crash into others, including Eaton, who is sent flying to the pavement.
Eaton said the incident left her with several injuries.
Before the incident, Eaton said officers, including Capt. Diedrich Hohn, had asked her to help police control the crowd of young demonstrators.
“I’m disappointed,” Eaton said this week. “I’m wondering why did they (the police) invite me to kind of deescalate things if I was going to be the first one knocked over?”
Eaton said she was telling protesters to go home when she was knocked over.
“You could go through every single video there,” she said. “There was no probable cause for me to have gotten harmed.”
Police have disputed her claims. Hohn denied asking Eaton to help officers during the protest. He said he spotted Eaton at the protest multiple times and that she and protesters had ignored repeated warnings to disperse.
Hohn said he saw a male punch Eaton in the torso during the event. He said he tried to chase the individual but stopped because he felt it would further inflame the agitated crowd.
“I am disappointed because she had an opportunity to remove herself from this incident but instead chose to stay on her own accord and not on my request,” Hohn wrote in an email.
“As far as I know Mrs. Eaton has failed to come into HQ to speak to investigators and I would have crafted a warrant for the male who punched her if she had done so,” he said.
Eaton stood by her version of events night and pointed to a video in which she is seen trying to usher young protesters away from police and off the street.
“The truth is in the pudding,” she said. “Everybody has seen the video.”
This week, Police Chief Shaw said he would address the incident concerning Eaton at the Police Commission meeting on Monday.