Meriden Officer-Involved Shooting Ruled Justified

MERIDEN, CT — Three Meriden officers were cleared in the investigation of the non-fatal shooting of an armed motorist in a CVS parking lot in 2018, according to a statement from the state Department of Justice. The investigation found that officers were compelled to use deadly physical force in the incident.

The officer-involved shooting occurred at the CVS parking lot on East Main Street Oct. 18, 2018.

Police said that the suspect, Ryan Holley, 41 exited the car with a gun in his hand and was still moving when three officers fired at him. Police had previously been tailing Holley's vehicle in an unmarked SUV when a firearm discharged in the car.

Holley was transferred to Hartford Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Holley, who claimed this was a case of racial profiling, said the police escalated the situation by not identifying themselves clearly and by following him in an unmarked car. However, police officials called Holley's claims "ridiculous" and said officers would be cleared of any wrongdoing.

According to the DOJ statement: "While Ryan Holley initially had no way of knowing that MPD officers were operating the unmarked SUV, he made the conscious and deliberate decision to attempt to display his registered pistol to its occupants, and in doing so accidentally discharged one (1) round into his own windshield. By firing this round he endangered the life of his passenger as well as potential motorists in the vicinity. Further, Holley failed to obey the officers’ commands to put down his firearm as he emerged from a moving vehicle in the CVS parking lot, compelling the officers’ use of deadly physical force."