Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting Investigated In Hartford

HARTFORD, CT — A person was killed following a police-involved shooting on an I-84 ramp Friday night.

The shooting happened in the area of Capitol avenue and ramps were closed while police investigated the incident. The incident was captured on three police-worn body cameras, said Mayor Luke Bronin.

"We have body cameras precisely for incidents like this, and I hope that the State's Attorney will allow those videos to be made available to our community quickly," he said.

The incident began as a routine patrol and officers tried to stop a vehicle near Russ Street and Park Terrace. The vehicle didn't stop and drop onto the I-84 ramp near Capitol Avenue, police said. The vehicle backed up toward officers in an attempt to flee, but struck another civilian's vehicle.

The driver attacked an officer as they approached and during a struggle managed to gain control of an officer's firearm, according to police. Officers on video can be heard yelling that the driver had an officer's gun and he had the gun while he was being pulled from a vehicle. At that point the suspect was shot.

"Video footage is only one part of the investigation, but from what I saw, this was an extremely dangerous situation," Bronin said, adding that from the video he saw the officers had reason to fear for their lives.

Connecticut has had several high-profile officer-involved shootings this year. A Wethersfield chase ended in a fatality after an officer fired at a vehicle. The case is still being investigated by State Police.

An officer-involved shooting in New Haven by Hamden and Yale Police officers is also being investigated by state prosecutors after a woman in a vehicle was injured. State Police recently turned over material to the State Attorney's office in that case. Prosecutors will have to decide whether the officers involved broke any laws.