$1.1M Settlement Awarded To Woman Shot By Hamden Cop: Report

HAMDEN, CT — The woman who was seriously injured after being shot by former Hamden Police Officer Devin Eaton won a $1.1 million settlement in her civil lawsuit against the town, according to the New Haven Register.

Stephanie Washington, who was 22 at the time, suffered a fractured pelvis and spine in the 2019 shooting in New Haven, the New Haven Independent previously reported. She filed a federal lawsuit against the town in 2020. Washington was the passenger in a vehicle that Eaton fired several shots at.

The Register reports the approximately $1.1 million payment came from Hamden’s insurance provider.

Hamden and Eaton have denied all liability despite the payment, which resolves Washington’s claims against the town and Eaton, according to the Register.

Eaton was arrested by Connecticut State Police in October 2019 and was initially charged with first-degree assault and two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.

The arrest stemmed from an incident that began unfolding around 4:20 a.m. on April 16, 2019, when Hamden Police received a 911 call about a newspaper delivery man being robbed at a Hamden gas station on Arch Street by a suspect in a red Honda Civic. The clerk told police that the suspect pulled a gun on the delivery man, asked him for money, and was also harassing a second customer.

A vehicle matching the description was found near Dixwell Avenue and Argyle Street. Eaton and Yale University Police Officer Terrance Pollock both were on the scene around 4:30 a.m. and multiple shots were fired at the Civic. The passenger, Washington, was shot and seriously injured during the incident.

Washington was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment of serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said at the time.

The driver, Paul Witherspoon, wasn't injured in the incident and was taken to the Hamden Police Department for questioning. At the time of the shooting, neither Witherspoon nor Washington was in possession of a gun, according to the state attorney's office.

An investigation found that Eaton fired 13 shots in the direction of the Civic, with the last two fired with his arm extended behind him as he fled on Argyle Street seeking cover. Pollock, who fired three shots, sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot "graze" wound to his right calf, which was determined to be the result of "friendly fire," according to state police. He was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital and was treated and released on the same day. Pollock was not charged in the incident.

An investigation by the state’s attorney’s office found that Eaton's actions were not "objectively reasonable" and were unjustified.

Eaton pleaded guilty in January 2022 to one count of first-degree assault. He was sentenced last May to three years of probation with no prison time. Eaton was ordered to perform 150 hours of community service per year for those three years. Under the terms of the plea deal with the state’s attorney, he was allowed to seek no prison time in return for giving up the ability to become a cop again, the New Haven Independent previously reported.

Read more about the settlement at the New Haven Register here.