New Haven Police Look To Dispel False Rumors

NEW HAVEN, CT — The New Haven Police Department says it wants to correct false rumors that are insinuating that officers were pursuing Tywan Richard Samuels, 28, of New Haven who was on a dirt bike at the time of his fatal crash.

Officer David B. Hartman, who is the Police Department's spokesman, said Saturday, "Over the past few days, false accusations have run rampant on social media sites, blaming Samuels’ death on his being pursued by police. These accusations are blatantly baseless, fabricated and borne out of rumors.

Trained officers and commanders from the NHPD’s Crash Investigation Unit have reviewed footage from two separate video surveillance sources of the events leading up to the crash. There is no pursuit. There is, in fact, no one at all behind Samuels prior to his losing control and striking the curb. Furthermore, Samuels is performing a wheelie, causing him to lose control as the road curves northbound," Hartman said in a news release.

On Saturday, July 21 Samuels died in a single dirt-bike crash on the five-hundred block of Sherman Avenue. The bike was unregistered, uninsured and being illegally operated, Hartman said.

"The department understands the grief felt by Samuels’ friends and family. Related social media posts have criticized police, without cause, and have called upon bike riders to, of all things, disrupt city festivals including the two day Gospel Festival, which begins today at the nearby De Gale Field," Hartman said. "This culpable threat to victimize festival goers and to put people in harm’s way is of concern to police. The department has put measures in place to deal with and arrest those who would perpetrate such a disruption."