Norwalk Officer Cleared In Fatal Police Pursuit

NORWALK, CT — The Norwalk police officer involved in a fatal pursuit on Jan. 26 has been cleared and has returned to full-time duty, the department announced Friday.

The officer's conduct in the pursuit was reviewed separately by both the department and State's Attorney Richard Colangelo, and both came to the same conclusion, namely that the officer "acted in accordance with Department policy." The officer's identity was not released.

Norwalk resident Vincent Fowlkes, 22, the suspect and driver in the pursuit was killed in a crash on Geneva Road.

Below is the department's full statement about the incident and investigations:

On January 26, 2017, at approximately 11:00 a.m., officers from the Special Services Unit were attempting to serve an arrest warrant in the area of West Cedar Street. The suspect attempted to evade officers first by vehicle and then by foot. Officers radioed that a foot pursuit was in progress. An officer working at a nearby construction project responded to the area of West Cedar and Scribner Avenue to assist. The officer positioned his patrol vehicle at the stop sign at the corner of Scribner Avenue and Suncrest Road in an effort to prevent any cars from exiting Colonial Village. The emergency lights on the marked police car were activated. As the officer stepped out of his patrol car, he saw a vehicle driving towards him at a high rate of speed. The vehicle did not stop, but instead drove up onto the sidewalk to get around the patrol car and made a right turn onto Scribner Avenue. The officer could not clearly see the occupant(s) of the vehicle due to the speed at which the vehicle was traveling. However, the officer believed that vehicle was likely involved in the earlier attempt to avoid arrest and that it was continuing flight to avoid apprehension.

The officer got back into his patrol car, activated his siren, and notified headquarters of the fleeing vehicle. The officer then began driving north on Scribner Avenue in an attempt to follow the vehicle, but lost sight of the car as it accelerated away from him. The officer initially thought the vehicle turned onto Richards Avenue, but then caught a glimpse of the rear of the vehicle proceeding north onto Geneva Road. The officer again lost sight of the vehicle as he approached the intersection of Scribner Avenue and Richards Avenue, and thought the driver may have attempted to hide in a driveway. When the officer approached the area of 31 Geneva Road, he saw that the vehicle had driven off the road and struck a tree.

The officer immediately called for assistance. Several other officers responded and together they attempted to assist the occupants of the vehicle. The Norwalk Fire Department also responded and extricated the driver and one occupant from the vehicle. Norwalk Hospital Paramedics treated and transported both occupants to Norwalk Hospital, where the driver subsequently succumbed to his injuries. Due to the extent of the injuries, the Connecticut State Police Collision Analysis Reconstruction Squad (CARS) was requested to investigate the crash. Their completed report will take several months. However, during the initial extrication process, a large quantity of narcotics was located in the vehicle.

Pursuant to Norwalk Department Policy, the officer was placed on modified duty pending a review of the circumstances which led to the crash. As a result of our review, the Department has found that the officer acted in accordance with Department policy. The entire duration of the incident, from the time the vehicle drove over the sidewalk to get around the patrol car to the time it crashed, was just over one minute. The officer was never directly in pursuit of the fleeing vehicle, as the vehicle was out of his sight a large portion of the time. Witness accounts indicated that the suspect vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed and that there was a significant distance between the suspect vehicle and the officer. Home surveillance video obtained by the Connecticut State Police from a location on Geneva Road in close proximity to the crash location confirms that the officer was approximately 12 seconds behind the suspect vehicle at the approximate time of the crash.

In order to ensure an unbiased review of the incident, State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo was asked to conduct an independent review of the Department’s findings. State’s Attorney Colangelo has advised that, based upon his review, he concurs with the Department’s findings. As a result, the officer has been returned to full duty.

Photo: Norwalk Police Department