Investigation Into Use Of Force By US Marshal Underway: Officials

NEW HAVEN, CT —A deputy US Marshal is under a use-of-force investigation after he fired five shots toward a truck being driven by a fleeing suspect, officials said.

The US Marshals Fugitive Task Force was trying to serve five active felony warrants on Marvin Owens, of Bridgeport, in a New Haven business' parking lot Jan. 13 when the man fled in a white box truck, according to a news release from Inspector General Robert J. Devlin, Jr.

It was around 11:30 a.m. when Owens entered a parking lot near 35 Wheeler St. where task force officers, including, Deputy US Marshal James Masterson, were waiting, Devlin said.

As officers approached to take Owens into custody, "disregarding the officers’ commands" he got back into the truck and began fleeing the parking lot, the news release from Devlin reads. The officers chased him on foot for a "short distance when Masterson fired five shots in the direction of the truck," authorities said.

The US Marshals were not wearing body-worn cameras during the incident and none of their vehicles had dashcams, officials said. But, investigators said they found private security cameras on a building where the shooting occurred. Devlin authorized the public release of the video, seen below.

No one was injured, but Owens continued to flee in the truck, officials said. Over the course of the next near-hour, he led them, and New Haven and state police on a wild chase on Interstate 95 into Bridgeport before crashing into a car in Bridgeport where Owens was arrested.

The Inspector General is examining whether the use of force by Masterson "was justified under Connecticut law," the news release reads.

The state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, and state police Western District Major Crime Squad is investigating.