State Investigation Clears Danbury Cop In December Fatal Shooting

DANBURY, CT — The state's attorney has ruled that a city police officer was justified in the use of deadly force when he shot and killed a knife-wielding man in December.

Well over six months after Danbury Police Officer Alexander Relyea shot and killed Paul Arbitelle, Stamford/Norwalk State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo concluded that "The use of such force was both reasonable and justified under the circumstances."

"It is further concluded that Officer Relyea acted in conformance with the Danbury Police Department Procedures and Policies and Connecticut law in employing deadly force to protect himself or another, and that his belief was objectively reasonable," Colangelo wrote in the summary.

Relyea had responded to a report of a call regarding an unwanted party in the area of 33 Rocky Glen in Danbury. The caller for that event, Charles Pickel, identified the unwanted party as Paul Arbitelle, according to the state's attorney's report. Relyea and Officer Regina Guss tracked Arbitelle to the apartment of his mother, Linda, at the Glen Apartments a short distance away. It was there that the police officers found Arbitelle, who advanced on Relyea with a knife with a six-inch blade, according to the evidence recovered.

The exoneration of Officer Relyea's actions in December comes only days after he was placed on paid leave after shooting another knife-wielding man.

On July 3, Relyea had responded to a report of Aaron Bouffard assaulting people at a the McDonough House, according to the State Police report. When the officers encountered Bouffard near a recreational soccer field after a manhunt, he was walking towards them with the "butcher" knives still in hand, the report said. Relyea fired several rounds at Bouffard, striking him in the thigh, pelvis area and finger," according to the report.