The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Critics say Conn.’s legal standard ‘shields’ police
Connecticut police officers have been fired upon, threatened with a gun or large knife or injured before using deadly force.
There are also cases where officers have been threatened with a large piece of wood, a paintball gun, a bat or have placed themselves in the path of a suspect with a car before wounding or killing a suspect.
In nearly every case, the officer was found to be justified in his use of deadly force because he believed he was in grave danger.
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis and the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, lawmakers and others are trying to change how and when police can deploy deadly force — and how they are held accountable for their actions.
The effort is partly focused on self-defense laws that allow cops to deploy deadly force when officers believe they or another person is in “imminent” danger of bodily harm or death.
Critics say the law is flawed because the decision to clear or not clear an officer does not rest on how or why the officer ended up having to choose deadly force. The determination is generally based on a strict interpretation of the selfdefense statute — whether the officer reasonably believed he was in grave danger.
“There is a big difference between justified and right and wrong,” said Brian Foley, a spokesman for the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which includes State Police.
“Just because it’s justified, it does not mean it’s the best option or the right option,” Foley said.
“It’s complicated”
A Hearst Connecticut Media review of dozens of state’s attorney reports in which officers were cleared for killing a suspect showed that since 2001, 69 suspects in Connecticut have been killed by police who deployed deadly force.
Only one of those cases — a deadly shooting by a Hartford cop — was deemed not justified by the State’s Attorney Office, which reviews each case of deadly force by a Connecticut officer.
That officer was fired and charged with manslaughter in part because his statements differed from other witnesses, an investigation concluded. He was later acquitted in a state Superior Court.
“What is permissible use of force, and what leads up to it, is something we are looking at in conjunction with pending legislation,” said State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport and a cochairman of the judiciary committee.
“It’s complicated,” Stafstrom added. “It’s not just that split second [when an officer fires], it’s what led up to it.”
Still, not every aspect of a case has been deemed justified, according to a review that includes the half a dozen cases that did not end in a death.
A Hamden officer who in 2019 shot — but did not kill — a suspect in New Haven was charged with assault and other offenses. The state’s attorney deemed the shooting not justified because the evidence failed to support the officer’s claim that the suspect had a gun.
A corrections officer at New Haven Correctional Center in 2019 was cleared of contributing to the death of an inmate repeatedly sprayed with a chemical agent and restrained. But the officer was charged with assault for striking the inmate immediately after spraying him with the chemical agent.
The state’s attorney concluded that while the force used was justified, the officer did not give the inmate sufficient time to comply after deploying a chemical agent.
Milford Police Chief Keith Mello, president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, said many local departments have tightened rules for using deadly force.
“We have addressed the conduct leading up to — we addressed it internally,” Mello said. “But the legal standard, that’s up to the state’s attorney to establish.”
Police self-defense
Mike Lawlor, a criminal justice professor at the University of New Haven and a former state undersecretary for criminal justice, said the state’s review of deadly force incidents overlooks mistakes and misjudgments.
Lawlor pointed to a 2017 Bridgeport shooting in which an officer ran to a suspect’s car and shot into the vehicle, killing 15-year old Jayson Negron.
The case has drawn protests for years and demonstrators are now camped in front of the Bridgeport police headquarters demanding the officer, James Boulay, be fired.
During a pursuit, Negron turned into a lot off Fairfield Avenue and eventually became blocked by a police cruiser and other cars in the area. Boulay approached the vehicle and tried to pull Negron from the car, according to the state’s attorney report.
Negron put the vehicle in reverse, hitting Boulay with the driver’s side door. Boulay fired numerous times, fatally injuring Negron and wounding another person in the car.
The state’s attorney concluded Boulay “reasonably believed that the use of deadly force was necessary to defend himself” and the shooting was deemed justified.
Lawlor said the officer should not have approached the car so quickly.
“Why don’t you wait?” Lawlor said. “Wait for another cop when you’re all fired up, instead of running up to the car. Now you’re about to get run over and you think you’re about to die.”
Lawlor said the Bridgeport case exposed a flaw in the state’s review.
“They [state’s attorney] almost never address whether the cop made fundamental mistakes that got him into a position where he ended up using self-defense,” Lawlor said.
“In almost all of these cases, the officers put themselves in a position where they could have gotten killed,” Lawlor said. “They should not have done that.”
The state’s attorney report on the Bridgeport incident offered insight into why the shooting was justified.
“The test is not whether it was in fact necessary for the officer to use deadly physical force in order to defend against the imminent use of deadly physical force,” the state’s attorney report said. “The test is whether the officer believed such to be the case, and whether such belief was objectively reasonable, based on the facts and circumstances known to the officer at the time the decision to use deadly force was made.”
In an unprecedented move, the state’ Criminal Justice Commission this week suspended Hartford State’s Attorney Gail Hardy for four days for failing to resolve four deadly police shooting cases, some dating back 11 years.
“Shields police”
Kelly Moore, a lawyer for the Connecticut chapter of the ACLU, claimed police often put themselves in danger and resort to deadly force.
“We see that time and time again,” Moore said. “Cops start making demands. They barge in and corner someone. It has become dangerous because of the actions of the officers.”
Moore said the use of force standard and self defense law is “flawed” and doesn’t require police to deescalate, seek alternate force or match force to the danger.
“It just shields police,” Moore said.
“We have to make it so there are real consequences,” Moore said. “Police are very difficult to fire by design under police contract. They draw salaries while being investigated. It’s bigger than just the use of force standard.”
Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said the self defense standard “should be looked at” but wasn’t sure what changes should be made.
“You do have to put yourself in the shoes of the officer at the time,” Fasano said. “What would a reasonable, prudent officer do.”
Some local departments have disciplined officers for their actions before they used deadly force — even if the state’s attorney deemed that force to be justified.
New London police in 2011 responded to a report that a Crystal Ice
Company truck had been stolen. During a pursuit, the suspect crashed, and the vehicle flipped over.
Officer Thomas Northup confronted the driver, Curtis Cunningham, who remained inside the truck. Northup told investigators he believed Cunningham was searching for a gun. After Cunningham reached for his waistband, Northup fired.
Cunningham survived the shooting and no gun was found.
New London police fired Northup, concluding his use of deadly force was “excessive and unreasonable.”
But the state’s attorney investigation deemed the shooting justified, noting “the state would be unable to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt” that Northup didn’t believe he was in imminent danger.
Northrup three years later was rehired by New London police after the city abandoned its appeal of a state mediation board order to reinstate him.
New orders
Gov. Ned Lamont issued an executive order last week establishing new rules for State Police.
The order bans chokeholds and other restraints, requires officers to deescalate situations and exhaust all alternatives before using deadly force.
Officers are also prohibited from firing at vehicles unless under a clear threat and must report use of excessive force.
Max Reiss, a spokesman for Lamont, said the governor is “supportive of exploring new concepts when it comes to police accountability, especially through utilizing community liaisons.”
Reiss said the governor also supports creating more community police review boards in cities and towns.
State Police Commissioner James C. Rovella supported Lamont’s order.
Lamont has called lawmakers into special session to consider police reforms. That session is expected to begin this summer or early fall.
On Friday, Senate Democrats said pending legislation will include much of Lamont’s executive order along with some new provisions, including creating an inspector general to investigate police misconduct and use of force.
Mello said the chiefs association already recommended bans on chokeholds and neck restraints and mandated that local officers intervene and report abusive deadly force.
The chiefs association also adopted Lamont’s new ban on buying military equipment, he said.
“We have done a lot in this state in terms of reforms and communities have a lot to be proud of,” Mello said.
“Law enforcement is always a work in progress because we are dealing with human interaction,” Mello added. “We are committed to looking at racial injustice and will continue those discussions. We all want the same thing.”
Lawlor suggested forming a separate unit within the Chief State’s Attorney Office to investigate and prosecute use of deadly force and other issues.
State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said many proposals are being considered.
“My prediction is there will be a robust bill that will put in the standards and accountability people are demanding,” Duff said.
bcummings@ctpost.com