Deputy involved in I-95 shooting a respected vet
Connor Haugh, the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s deputy who shot and killed a man accused of a waging a chaotic, murderous rampage this week, is a respected, veteran police officer, his union says.
Haugh, 35, who has been in law enforcement for 12 years, used lethal force Wednesday against Hugo Selva, 22, while surrounded by traffic and wrecked cars in the middle of Interstate 95 in Lantana.
Five police agencies — Florida Highway Patrol, West Palm Beach Police, Boynton Beach Police, The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the sheriff ’s office — are investigating crimes that led up to Selva’s killing and the deputy’s actions:
On Tuesday afternoon, Charles Brown, Jr., 32, of Boynton Beach was wounded by gunfire while he was near the Dutchman Motor Lodge at 7211 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach, police in that city said. Selva is linked to that shooting and is also being investigated for the shooting Wednesday around 1:15 a.m. of Anthony Fonti, 21, in Bentwater Circle in
Boynton Beach, the sheriff’s office said. Both wounded men survived.
At 2:40 a.m. Wednesday, Edvin Milkevic 29, of Boca Raton was fatally shot as he drove south along I-95 near Yamato Road. Boca Raton Police said Thursday they “don’t have any evidence right now” connecting Milkevic’s death to the mayhem Selva is accused of causing.
Selva shot his girlfriend Nicole Novak, 26, about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday outside a Lake Worth convenience store in the 1600 block of South Dixie Highway, the sheriff’s office said. Selva and Novak had been romantically involved and on their Facebook pages, posted photographs of Novak after she apparently gave birth to a baby last fall. She had served 28 months in state prison; he had been accused of threatening to kill his grandmother.
In a Nissan Rogue SUV, Selva drove the mortally wounded Novak to Southern Boulevard, drove into oncoming traffic on I-95 and, after three crashes in Lantana, was met on the highway by Haugh.
A Florida Highway Patrol trooper’s stun gun was not effective against Selva, and Haugh shot Selva, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.
“Due to [the suspect’s] actions that he was performing in the car, the deputy said that he was in fear for his life and the life of the trooper, and opened fire and killed the suspect inside,” Bradshaw said at a roadside press conference Wednesday. He would not describe what Selva did that prompted Haugh to shoot.
“It was enough to let the deputy know that he needed to do what he needed to do, trust me,” Bradshaw said then.
It was not the first time Haugh used a weapon on the job. In May 2008 while he served with Boynton Beach police, he fired at two carjacking suspects armed with a knife after their car nearly struck him. No one was injured, according to a Sun Sentinel report.
In 2012, Haugh was sued in Palm Beach County by a Boynton Beach father and his two sons. They alleged that when Haugh and other Boynton Beach police officers tried to break up a massive street party in 2007, Haugh used a stun gun on one of them, causing physical injury, emotional and physical discomfort and pain and suffering, according to court documents. A police supervisor’s report found “the officers involved should be commended for their restraint in dealing with the arrested.”
None of the lawyers involved in the suit could be reached for comment; the case was settled in mediation on Feb. 1, 2018 and the terms are secret.
A week later, Haugh was at the center of one of the most high profile and violent incidents in the county.
“He did a great job,” said John Kazanjian, a former sergeant with the sheriff’s office and current president of the Palm Beach County Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. “That’s where training comes in.”
According to FDLE, Haugh last qualified for firearms use on May 31, 2017. Since he graduated the police academy and became a certified law enforcement officer in May, 2006, he completed field training and courses in organized crime, narcotics investigations; interviews and interrogations; Spanish for criminal justice professionals; radar; investigating human trafficking and hostage negotiations. Some of those courses earn him small bonuses in his paychecks. He also trained in weapons of mass destruction and incident command.
Kazanjian said about Haugh’s lethal use of force against Selva, “That was a bad guy out there. He’d already killed one person. Who knows how many others he could have killed?”
“Every now and then you’re gonna get someone who is tearing up the streets, whether robbing banks or whatever,” Kazanjian said. “And we’re on ‘em. The law enforcement agencies in Palm Beach County are equipped with the technology to track them and catch them.”
He also said of Haugh, “He has been a great deputy. We represent our deputies and provide attorneys for them when they get in trouble and for discipline. And he hasn’t been over here, and that’s a good thing. There’s been no discipline that I can speak of.”
Haugh did not have a discipline history at the state level, an FDLE spokeswoman said. A request for Haugh’s personnel records from his former and current police departments is pending.
FDLE is investigating the fatal shooting by Haugh and the trooper’s use of the stun gun, according to Bradshaw.
Without specifically addressing Wednesday’s shooting, Michael B. Edmondson, executive assistant to state attorney to State Attorney Dave Aronberg, said Friday the facts of a case presented to them will determine what the office will do next.
“If an officer cooperates and the review determines there was a justifiable use of force, we’ll cite the law and the review would be closed,” Edmondson said. “If we believe there is probable cause for a case to be reviewed for criminal charges, we can file charges directly against the officer or present the case to a grand jury for review.”