Attorney charged in fatal shooting of city man ordered to surrender guns

TORRINGTON — The Litchfield attorney charged with manslaughter after allegedly shooting and killing a 39-year-old Torrington man amid an apparent argument was ordered by a judge Monday to surrender his firearms.

Longtime real estate attorney Robert Fisher, 76, of Goshen, was charged with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm on May 4, nearly a year after the incident occurred in front of his Litchfield office. He is free on $50,000 bond.

Fisher appeared for a brief arraignment Monday morning in state Superior Court in Torrington. A judge transferred the case to Part A, where more serious criminal matters are heard, and continued the matter to July 8.

Fisher claims the shooting was in self-defense “and even the forensic evidence in the warrant supports our position,” his attorney William Conti said Friday.

Conti said Monday that Fisher will enter a plea of not guilty during the July 8 hearing. Conti also said Fisher was already in the process of transferring his firearms to his daughter when the judge told him he couldn’t possess them while the case is pending.

In the warrant for his arrest, Fisher is described as a National Rifle Association instructor who is passionate about guns. The weapon used in the shooting was legally possessed by Fisher, state police said in the warrant.

Fisher is accused of fatally shooting 39-year-old Matthew Bromley, of Torrington, on June 7, 2021, after the younger man began arguing and hitting the attorney, witnesses said. But bystanders told investigators they did not believe Fisher was in any immediate danger and the altercation had stopped when the attorney pulled out a gun, according to witness accounts in the arrest warrant affidavit.

Bromley had followed Fisher before parking and approaching the attorney as he was sitting in his car, Fisher said in a statement to police. According to witness accounts, Bromley approached Fisher and began arguing with him before slapping and punching the older man while saying he wanted to kill him because he had ruined his life.

“His face was totally angry, enraged and he seemed crazy to me,” Fisher said in the statement to police. “I immediately became fearful for my safety and my life and I knew I needed to defend myself.”

Fisher later told investigators he had pulled out his gun expecting Bromley to back off, but instead the younger man tried to grab his arm so he shot him, the warrant said.

Witnesses told police they did not see Bromley grab for Fisher once the gun had been pulled out, the warrant said. The men were about 5 to 6 feet apart when Fisher first lifted the gun and pointed it at Bromley's neck, the warrant said.

“I'd like to add that I don't believe that this is self-defense because the younger male did not have a weapon. I think the older male could've punched the other guy and settled it that way rather than shooting him,” a witness told investigators, according to the warrant. “It just didn't seem like it was that violent of an attack.”

Fisher's staff told police Bromley was never a client, but he previously spoke with Fisher on the phone a few weeks before the shooting. According to staff at the law firm, Bromley had discussed wanting to purchase his mother's house, which was in foreclosure, the warrant said.

Fisher told Bromley while raising his voice that he didn't do foreclosures, staff told investigators.

A Vietnam veteran, Fisher is a partner in Cramer & Anderson's Washington Depot office, according to the practice's website. He focuses mostly on residential and commercial real estate law along with land use law and environmental matters. He also does estate planning.