Man Who Tried To Kill Hartford Cop Sentenced To Prison: State

HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford man will spend decades in prison for trying to kill a Hartford police officer in 2021.

Sharmese L. Walcott, Hartford State’s Attorney, announced Friday that Jose Cajigas, 35, of Hartford, was sentenced Jan. 9 to serve 35 years in prison and five years of special parole for the 2021 attempted murder of a Hartford police officer.

A Superior Court jury in Hartford, Oct. 3, 2025, found Cajigas guilty of attempted murder, assault of a public safety officer, and criminal possession of a firearm.

According to evidence introduced during the court trial, a Hartford police officer on patrol on Main Street on Oct. 26, 2021, observed a man, later identified as Cajigas, walking with an orange umbrella toward her parked police cruiser.

Walcott said Cajigas paced in front of the vehicle and then approached the driver's side of the cruiser.

The officer notified dispatch and requested backup before verbally engaging with Cajigas, she said.

According to authorities, while trying to determine if he needed medical assistance, the officer stated that Cajigas moved away from her vehicle for a few seconds before re-engaging in conversation.

When the officer asked Cajigas if he had been drinking, there was a sudden change in his demeanor, and he replied that he was intoxicated and might need assistance, Walcott said.

The officer, still seated in her vehicle, instructed Cajigas to sit on the hood of her vehicle at which time she attempted to utilize her police radio to request an ambulance, authorities said.

As the officer motioned to utilize the radio, the officer heard a "bang" followed by her cruiser's operator's side door window shattering, according to Walcott.

She said the officer, startled by the shattered glass and believing Cajigas threw an item at her, immediately drove away and alerted dispatch and responding officers about what had just occurred.

The officer immediately circled back to the incident location, where she observed Cajigas fleeing toward a cemetery, officials said.

"Officers arrived at the cemetery, established a perimeter, and within minutes, had located and detained Cajigas without incident," wrote Walcott in a statement.

In the immediate vicinity of where Cajigas was apprehended, officers found the orange umbrella and a .22 caliber Jennings firearm, she said.

The firearm remained loaded and was secured on the scene for investigators to retrieve, officials said.

During the canvass of the parking lot on Main Street where the cruiser had been parked, one .22 caliber spent shell casing was located.

"Upon inspection of the officer's damaged vehicle, it was determined that the officer had been fired upon while seated inside her vehicle," wrote Walcott

"The window had been shattered, and a bullet projectile, consistent with a small caliber firearm, was located inside the vehicle."

In a release, Walcott called the crimes "detestable."

“The criminal acts committed against this Officer are detestable and have no place in our community,” Walcott said. “This sentence, that includes a lengthy period of incarceration followed by a period of community-based monitoring, is a clear signal of the intolerance for the defendant's actions.”

For information on the case, click on this link.