Names of shooting victim, officer made public

NEW MILFORD » State police have released the names of the New Milford police officer and a resident who were involved in a fatal shooting on Monday.

Kostatinos Sfaelos, 55, was shot Monday evening near his home at 47 Outlook Road after he refused to put down a shotgun while approaching police, according to a release from state police issued on Thursday.

New Milford police officer Christopher Hayes, 33, shot Sfaelos, state police said.

Hayes was hired by New Milford Police in April 2014, according to the release.

He was the only officer to fire at Sfaelos. This

was determined through an investigation by state police detectives and the Office at the Chief Medical Examiner.

The shooting happened after police officers responded to Outlook Road just before 5 p.m. on a report of a disturbance, according

to state police.

As officers arrived, Sfaelos came out of the house with a shotgun and ran into the nearby woods.

New Milford police surrounded the property and asked for a negotiator and police canine unit to respond the scene to get the man out of the woods, according to police.

“Eventually (Sfaelos) exited the woods and began approaching officers with

the weapon in his hand,” police said in the release on Thursday. “The male ignored New Milford police officer’s repeated demands to stop ... and to drop the shotgun. As a result at least one New Milford police officer discharged at least round from a New Milford Police Department weapon striking the male.”

Officers immediately administered first aid and Sfaelos was taken to Danbury Hospital, where he later

died, according to police.

Connecticut State Police detectives from the Western Major Crime Unit have assumed the investigation at the request of the Office of the State Attorney and the New Milford Police Department, according to the release.

Detectives and representatives of the State Attorney’s office are continuing to investigate the incident at this time, police said.