Body Camera Footage Released Of Naguatuck Arrest Under Investigation

NAUGATUCK, CT — Police have released body camera footage of an incident involving a Naugatuck officer's use of a stun gun that is currently under investigation.

During a press conference held late Monday afternoon, Police Chief Colin McAllister identified the officer as Nicholas Kehoss, a 13-year veteran of the department.

According to McAllister, the Oct. 14 incident stemmed from a shoplifting reported at a Stop and Shop in town in which Jarell Day, 33, of Waterbury, is accused of trying to steal over $200 worth of beer. The incident later escalated into a robbery charge.

In footage from one officer's body camera, a car in a parking lot can be seen speeding away from the officer as he approaches the vehicle, hitting a police cruiser on its way out of the lot.

A second video of Kehoss' dashboard camera shows what appears to be the same car crashed into a street light near the entrance to a highway.

Footage from Kehoss' body camera shows the officer chasing Day and ordering him to stop before pulling out a stun gun and telling him to get on the ground. The officer then deploys the stun gun, causing Day to fall to the ground.

Kehoss then orders Day to roll over onto his stomach. When Day does not immediately comply, Kehoss activates the stun gun again.

Kehoss activates the device a third time after asking Day to put his hands behind his back. Day can be heard in the video pleading for the officer not to use it again.

According to McAllister, any use of force automatically triggers an internal investigation by the department.

During that process, department officials "identified several concerns with this use of force" that were brought before the Waterbury State's Attorney's Office for review. A decision was then made by that office to defer the matter to Connecticut State Police for criminal investigation.

The department also initiated its own internal investigation based on the officer's conduct, McAllister said.

Kehoss has been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, McAllister said. He also noted the department wanted to be as transparent as possible about this situation.

"I do want to emphasize that we do have internal measures in place to evaluate our use of force," McAllister said. "Those measures were in place, they were working. This incident was self-reported. This did not originate from an external complaint."

McAllister noted no injuries were reported as a result of this incident and no complaints have been filed about this arrest as of Monday.

Day was arrested on a number of charges, including criminal attempt at second-degree assault, third-degree robbery, second-degree larceny, interfering with an officer/resisting, reckless driving, evading responsibility, disobeying the signal of an officer and illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle. His bond was set at $200,000, according to police.