Report: Wounded police officer ‘justified’ in returning fire

A New Haven Police Department officer who fired at a suspect who had shot him twice last October was justified in his use of deadly force, the state Inspector General has ruled.

In a report released by the Connecticut Office of Inspector General on Thursday, Inspector General Robert Devlin Jr. concluded that Officer Chad Curry had no other option but to defend himself by returning fire after 36-year-old Jose Claudio shot his cruiser six times and fired another four rounds after taking cover behind a van on Oct. 7, 2022.

Curry responded to the area of Chapel Street and Blatchley Avenue at 1:30 a.m. after hearing what sounded like a car collision. Upon arrival, he saw a black Honda Accord Crosstour — which had been reported stolen over the summer — that had crashed into a tree. Investigators later learned that the vehicle had left the road on Chapel Street before striking a tree and a telephone pole, snapping it in half, before hitting two more trees as well as a vehicle parked in the street, the report said.

According to Devlin’s report, Curry spotted a woman, later identified as Christine Pacheco, walking away from the crash and a man, later identified as Claudio, going in and out of the vehicle. Pacheco told the officer she didn’t know anything about the crash and kept walking, the report said. Claudio, upon seeing Curry, fled on foot, heading west on Chapel Street toward Blatchley Avenue.

Two gunshot wounds

Curry followed Claudio and called out to him at the intersection, at which point Claudio turned around and fired multiple shots at the police cruiser, striking the front windshield and other parts of the car six times, according to the report. Curry got out of the car and returned fire before Claudio ran across the intersection and took cover behind a van, from where he fired more shots at Curry, the report said. Two bullets hit Curry, one striking his right shoulder and another grazing his ear. When he realized he had been wounded, Curry retreated to his vehicle to take cover and radioed for backup, the report said.

According to Devlin, Claudio ran north on Blatchley Avenue and fired more shots at Curry as he fled.

Claudio could not immediately be located following the shooting.

“Officer Chad Curry came under immediate lethal threat when Jose Claudio suddenly and unexpectedly opened fire on him,” Devlin wrote in the report. “Officer Curry used deadly force in order to defend himself from the actual use of deadly force against him.”

Wounds treated

Curry was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital after the shooting, where a doctor said the gunshot wound to his shoulder was serious but not life-threatening, the report said. The wound to his ear was described as superficial.

Footage from Curry’s body camera and the dashboard camera on his cruiser led detectives to identify Claudio as a suspect, according to the report. During the investigation, they were able to speak to Pacheco, as she was identified as a possible girlfriend.

Pacheco told investigators Claudio had picked her up from her New Haven residence about 4 1/2 hours before the shooting, the report said. She told police she fell asleep while he was driving and was awoken by the crash. Pacheco was adamant to investigators that she never heard gunshots as she walked away from the scene, the report said.

Authorities learned through cooperating witnesses that Claudio had gone to a Hartford apartment belonging to an associate of his after the shooting, the report said. About eight hours after the incident, investigators were able to ping a phone number associated with Claudio and found that he was near the apartment.

Investigators conducted surveillance for the next several hours and spotted a suspect believed to possibly be Claudio leave and head to an apartment on Putnam Street, the report said. He later left the Putnam Street residence shortly before noon and returned at 12:52 p.m.

Authorities evacuated the residence before Claudio surrendered at 4 p.m. He was taken into custody on a warrant police obtained earlier in the day.

Police later searched the residence and found a Taurus G3C 9mm semiautomatic that a ballistic examination later found was used in the shooting, according to the report. They also reportedly found cash, ammunition, a firearm suppressor, a black Keltec Sub2000 .40 caliber folding carbine and a large quantity of suspected marijuana, the report said.

26 shots fired

The examination determined that, of the 26 bullet casings recovered at the scene, Claudio fired 10 rounds at Curry and Curry fired 16 rounds back, Devlin wrote.

“Such use of force was objectively reasonable and justified under Connecticut law,” Devlin wrote. “Claudio was clearly armed with a deadly weapon, there was no opportunity to engage in de-escalation measures, and Officer Curry did nothing to precipitate the confrontation.”

Claudio has been in custody since his arrest. He remains held on bonds totaling $3.5 million while two cases against him — one for the shooting and the other for possessing a gun and ammunition — are pending in New Haven Superior Court, court records show. Claudio faces charges of attempted murder, first-degree assault, assault on an officer, illegal discharge of a firearm and a slew of other firearm and ammunition offenses.