State: Bristol Cop Cleared In Jan. 2023 Shooting Of Carjacking Suspect

HARTFORD/FARMINGTON/BRISTOL, CT — A state investigator Wednesday cleared a Bristol police officer who shot a suspect involved in a wild incident in January 2023 in which he was charged with carjacking vehicles in Hartford, then Farmington, then stealing a police cruiser in Bristol.

The Jan. 12, 2023 incident ended with the suspect — Jimmie Shoemaker-Gonzalez, now 40, — crashing into a Bristol diner before being taken into police custody.

According to the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General, Bristol Police Officer Seth Petzing was cleared of any wrongdoing in firing shots at the BPD cruiser Shoemaker-Gonzalez reportedly stole at a crash scene during the day's events.

Ultimately, Shoemaker-Gonzalez was hit four times by bullets, twice in his right thigh and twice in his lower left leg, according to the report by Connecticut Inspector General Robert J. Devlin Jr.

It was initially reported the suspect was hit once in the leg.

According to the report, Shoemaker-Gonzalez underwent surgery to treat his wounds and has, since recovered.

Devlin's report states the suspect claimed to be high on drugs and doesn't remember much of what happened that day.

The incident, according to state officials, started at about 9:17 a.m. that day with a carjacking in Hartford; continued with a crash and another carjacking in Farmington on Route 6; then concluded in Bristol with another crash and theft of a Bristol police vehicle at about 12:31 p.m. Thursday.

Gonzalez, state law enforcers said, drove away in a stolen cruiser and crashed into Palma's Diner on Stafford Avenue, Bristol, 2.5 miles from where the cruiser was stolen.

The suspect was eventually charged with first-degree larceny, among other charges, from the Bristol, Farmington, and Hartford police departments.

His bond at the time was $1 million and he is still in custody.

According to online court records, Shoemaker-Gonzalez is still incarcerated and has pleaded guilty to a first-degree larceny charge by Bristol police.

Meanwhile, he is in the pre-trial phase of his charges from both Hartford and Farmington police, court records show.

Those include assault with a motor vehicle; robbery; larceny; and criminal mischief among many charges. He has pleaded "not guilty" to all of those charges.

Shoemaker-Gonzalez is expected to appear in Hartford Superior Court next on Sept. 24 regarding all of the charges he's facing, records show.

The Connecticut Office of Inspector General, Connecticut State Police's Western District Major Crime Squad, the Bristol Police Department, the Farmington Police Department, and the Hartford Police Department all investigated the incident.

Shortly after the carjackings, chase, shooting, and final crash, state investigators released body camera footage showing the incident.

That footage was also included in Devlin's report, along with pages and pages of testimony as well as images of evidence associated with what happened that day.

In all, Devlin's report is 66 pages long.

According to Devlin, Shoemaker-Gonzalez was not trying to run over Petzing in the stolen police cruiser, but his actions made it clear that Petzing was justified in believing that was the intent.

As a result, when Petzing fired his gun at Shoemaker-Gonzalez, he believed he was in danger and, thus, acted in a justifiable manner.

While Shoemaker-Gonzalez wasn't killed in the shooting, the investigation centered on Petzing's decision to fire his weapon, thereby, using potentially deadly force.

"Whether Officer Petzing’s use of deadly force was justified presents a close question. I am convinced, however, that there is insufficient evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that it was not justified," wrote Devlin in his report.

"The Office of Inspector General will take no further action in this matter."

The BPD thanked the state's IG office for the probe and the outcome.

"The Bristol Police Department would like to thank the Office of Inspector General for their efforts in conducting a thorough and objective investigation into the January 12, 2023 officer-involved shooting and agree with their assessment that Officer Petzing was justified when he discharged the firearm to protect himself from the imminent threat of serious physical injury and/or death posed by a violent, fleeing felon in a stolen car that day."

For the full, 66-page report on the incident by the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General, click on this link.

From Jan. 12, 2023: 'Report: Man Charged After Wild Chase Through Farmington, Bristol'

From Jan. 13, 2023: 'WATCH: Video Shows Suspect Stealing Police Vehicle Amid Gunfire: PD'

From March 9, 2023: 'Farmington Police Charge Avon Man In Wild Jan. 12 Incident'