PD Body Camera Captures Video Seconds Before New Haven Shooting

NEW HAVEN/HAMDEN, CT — State Police released preliminary video and details into its investigation of an officer-involved shooting that left Stephanie Washington, 22, and a Yale Police officer injured. State Police Commissioner James Rovella said it will likely be a couple months before the entire criminal investigation is completed, but said he had concerns about how the incident was handled.

Rovella played body camera footage from Hamden Officer Devin Eaton that starts just seconds before the shooting, but audio doesn't come on until later. The body camera has a recall feature that records footage before the record button is hit. Eaton activated his camera later on during the incident. There is no video footage from Eaton's cruiser. Yale Officer Terrance Pollack's cruiser camera and body camera weren't operating during the incident.

New Haven Police weren't involved in the incident and arrived after everything unfolded.

The video played at a Tuesday press conference shows driver Paul Witherspoon III exit the driver's side door of the vehicle. Eaton then runs from his initial spot onto a nearby sidewalk and at some point began to fire his weapon several times, including through the passenger side window of the Civic. Audio doesn't start until Eaton is on the sidewalk where he announces over the radio that shots were fired. There is more video after the shooting concluded, but State Police are withholding it from the public until their investigation is complete.

The use of the cameras was inconsistent with policies and procedures that are set at a statewide level, Rovella said. The available video which includes body camera footage and video from nearby businesses will be sent for forensic enhancement. Rovella added that in a perfect world without the stressors the police cameras should have been turned on sooner.

The State Police Officer Standards and Training Council's body camera policy mandates that officers "shall activate the camera at the inception of the interaction with the public in a law enforcement capacity," and also record vehicular pursuits and "any incident or event not otherwise prohibited by this police, which may be dnagerous, unpredictable or potentially useful for department training purposes."

State Police aren't entirely sure at this point, but believe that Pollack was hit by a bullet fired by Eaton, according to Rovella. There are also some preliminary indications that driver Paul Witherspoon was told to get out of his vehicle, Rovella said. Rovella didn't go into details about Witherspoon's interview with State Police.

No gun was found on Witherspoon or in his vehicle. Washington sustained non-life threatening injuries when she was hit while sitting in the front passenger seat.

The incident started after Hamden dispatchers got a 911 call that reported an attempted armed robbery of a newspaper delivery man at a Hamden gas station. The caller describes a black male and a black female passenger in a red two-car vehicle. The plate came back to a red Honda Civic. State Police are still investigating the robbery report.

Hamden then put a be-on-the-lookout alert to New Haven Police and said that the vehicle was heading toward New Haven, but Hamden Police didn't notify New Haven Police they would be entering New Haven, Rovella said.

Both officers are on administrative leave.

Eaton became a New Haven officer in 2015 and joined the Hamden force a little over a year later. Pollock is a 16-year veteran of Yale Police.

State Police are also investigating a now-fatal officer-involved shootingin Wethersfield that occurred Saturday. Anthony Jose Vega Cruz, 18, succumbed to his wounds after being shot by police during a pursuit.