Hamden Cop Arrested In Officer-Involved Shooting: UPDATE

HAMDEN, CT — A Hamden police officer has been arrested in connection to a shooting in New Haven earlier this year that injured a 22-year-old woman and sparked protests in both municipalities.

Devin Eaton, 29, was arrested by Connecticut State Police Monday on a warrant and charged with first-degree assault and two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment. He was released on a $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in New Haven Superior Court on Oct. 28.

The arrest stems from an incident that began unfolding around 4:20 a.m. on April 16 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, Stephanie 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.

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 were 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.

Following an investigation, New Haven State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin found that Eaton’s actions were not “objectively reasonable” and were unjustified.

In a written statement to investigators, Eaton believed Witherspoon had a gun and said the Honda’s door “unexpectedly” opened and Witherspoon “suddenly” exited the vehicle. However, based on body cam footage, Eaton ordered Witherspoon out of the car and to show his hands. Witherspoon appeared to comply with Eaton’s orders, according to Griffin.

There was no evidence that Witherspoon had a gun, Griffin wrote, and “even if an argument can be made that the initial shot fired at Witherspoon was reasonable because Officer Eaton believed that Witherspoon held something in his hand – it was not objectively reasonable for Officer Eaton to continue to move around the red Honda Civic while firing his weapon into the passenger compartment - particularly in light of the fact that, by his own admission, Officer Eaton was aware of Washington’s presence.”

“Under circumstances evincing an extreme indifference to human life, he recklessly engaged in conduct which created a risk of death, and thereby caused serious physical injury to Washington,” Griffin said. “Additionally, the reckless manner in which the shots were discharged placed those in the immediate vicinity, including Paul Witherspoon and Officer Pollock, at risk for serious physical injury.”

Witherspoon, who wasn't charged in the April incident, was arrested in August on charges that he hit a bicyclist and led officers on a pursuit.

The Night Of The Officer-Involved Shooting

Eaton told investigators that he saw the red Civic traveling “very slowly” on Argyle Street toward Dixwell Avenue but wasn’t sure that it was the vehicle involved in the gas station robbery because he couldn’t see the registration and didn’t want to notify dispatch until he knew he had the correct vehicle. He didn’t have his overhead emergency lights or siren activated, but the Honda appeared to stop as he was traveling past it.

“I don’t know why the vehicle came to a stop, but I thought that the operator was either going to engage me in pursuit, get out and try to run, or get out and shoot me,” Eaton told investigators, according to the arrest warrant. “I stopped my patrol vehicle in the area of the rear of the red Honda to verify that the Honda’s registration matched the registration that was given to me by dispatch. Now that I realized this was the vehicle from the robbery, I felt I needed to immediately get out of my car to maintain a visual on the operator, to control the situation and to ensure he wasn’t going to shoot me. At this time the driver’s door of my patrol vehicle was approximately 10 to 12 feet away from the driver’s side door of the Honda.

“I opened my driver’s side door. Based on the fact that the operator was reported to be in possession of a firearm, I unholstered my service weapon and exited my patrol vehicle. After I exited the vehicle with my service weapon pointed in the direction of the operator, I ordered him to show me his hands.”

Eaton said he couldn’t tell if the Honda’s window was open or closed, but he thought the driver would put his hands either up or through the window. Eaton said he planned to get closer to the driver’s side door so he could see into the vehicle and see if the driver was holding a weapon.

Once he got out of the patrol car, Eaton said he ordered the driver to show him his hands but then saw the car door “unexpectedly swing open” and said the driver began to “suddenly exit the vehicle.”

“As he was doing so, I could see that he was not holding anything in his left hand but as he began to turn towards me, I saw the operator begin to raise his right arm up and it appeared that he was holding an object in his right hand, which I believed to be a gun,” Eaton said. “I was alone, had not yet radioed for back-up, believed that the operator was in possession of a firearm and based on his close proximity to me and his sudden and aggressive actions when exiting his vehicle, I was afraid that the operator was about to shoot me and cause me serious bodily injury or death.”

Witherspoon dove back into the car and Eaton said he heard gunshots as he was moving around to the back of the Honda that he thought was coming from the driver. When he got to the passenger side of the Honda, Eaton said he fired shots at the suspect again but couldn’t see the passenger and lost sight of the driver, according to the warrant. He then stopped firing and moved to a secure location and then for the first time saw another police vehicle.

Pollock told investigators he was seated in his police vehicle when saw the driver getting out of the Honda and saw Eaton moving toward the driver’s door, then quickly jumping back away toward the passenger side of the car. He then heard a series of gunshots and “believed that the Hamden officer and the suspect were exchanging gunfire,” according to the affidavit.

“As I was seated in my cruiser, I heard what I thought were bullets striking the front of my cruiser,” Pollock said. “Seeing how the Hamden officer reacted, hearing the shots being fired, and believing the suspect was firing into my cruiser, I immediately thought that both the Hamden officer and I were being shot at by the operator of the red car. I was in fear for my life and thought I could be killed. I remember thinking I needed to get out of my cruiser immediately to return fire to defend myself and get myself into a safer location.

“Fearing for my life, I immediately opened the driver’s door of my cruiser using my left hand, exited my cruiser, and drew my issued department duty weapon (a black Glock 22, .40 Caliber) with my right hand. I immediately discharged my duty weapon to eliminate the imminent threat of deadly force against the Hamden officer and me. I discharged my firearm in the direction of the operator of the red Honda Civic. To the best of my recollection, I believe I fired two times. As I was shooting, my cruiser began moving toward the red vehicle. I was in such fear for my safety and realized I needed to get out of my cruiser so quickly that I forgot to place my cruiser in park before I exited.”

Pollock said he continued to back up and away from the gunfire and since his cruiser was slowly moving forward, he “immediately began retreating” and fired another shot in the direction of the driver. He then crossed Dixwell Avenue to gain cover and said he continued to hear gunfire “coming from the area of the red car.”

Witherspoon told investigators that when he was on Argyle Street, he saw two police cars coming at him and because one didn’t have its headlights on, he knew something was going to happen and never tried to run and just stopped his car. He said that he didn’t know why he was being stopped and claimed the incident at the gas station, which he called a “dispute,” didn’t cross his mind because he said that stuff happens every day, according to the report.

He said the officer ordered him to get out of the car and to show his hands. Witherspoon said that he’s watched many movies in his life and knew that if he even scratched himself, he would have been shot so he kept his hands extended out.

As he was getting out of the car, Witherspoon said he looked to his rear and saw the officer standing there with the barrel of his gun pointed right at him and the officer opened fire. He said he didn’t do anything to provoke the police to shoot at him and didn’t know how they survived the shooting.

See also: Internal Affairs Investigation To Move Forward Against Arrested Hamden Cop