Wethersfield police officer who killed driver worried past bosses

Former supervisors of a Connecticut officer who fatally shot a man during an attempted traffic stop last month were concerned about his “unacceptable” performance and difficulty handling stressful situations, according to personnel records obtained by The Associated Press.

Wethersfield officer Layau Eulizier, 26, was involved in several incidents in which he lost his composure with the public and made tactical mistakes when he was with Manchester police from 2015 to 2018, the records show.

“It is my opinion that Off. Eulizier needs immediate attention,” Manchester Sgt. Jamie Taylor wrote in a report in 2016. “I worry that if he does not vastly improve his work performance under stress he is going to hurt himself or someone else.”

Police said Eulizier, an Air Force veteran who joined Wethersfield police in August, shot and killed 18-year-old Anthony Jose Vega Cruz in Wethersfield on April 20 when Vega Cruz drove his car at the officer while trying to flee a traffic stop. A passenger, Vega Cruz’s 18-year-old girlfriend, was not injured.

The shooting, which was recorded on police dashboard camera and local surveillance video that has been released to the public, sparked several protests where demonstrators said the use of deadly force was unnecessary.

An email message seeking comment was left for Eulizier on Monday night.

Wethersfield Police Chief James Cetran and lawyers for Vega Cruz’s family said they could not immediately comment Monday night. Cetran said he was at a town meeting where protesters had gathered again.

According to documents provided to the AP by Manchester police under a public records request, Eulizer during a 2015 training exercise opened fire to provide “cover” for other officers when he was not supposed to, surprising the instructors.

During a traffic stop, also in 2015, Eulizier lost his composure and screamed at the driver while using “poor physical control tactics,” the records show. In 2016, when another officer was being dragged by a car during a traffic stop, Eulizier screamed the wrong code in the police radio multiple times and unsafely drove his cruiser at nearly 100 mph on local streets trying to locate the car, the records show.