Stamford Police Release Body-Cam Footage Of Homicide Suspect's Arrest

STAMFORD, CT — The Stamford Police Department on Wednesday released body camera footage showing the moment officers arrested 26-year-old Edgar Ismalej-Gomez, the man who police have said is a suspect in the untimely death of his 2-year-old son, Liam Rivera.

The boy's remains were found on Jan. 2 in a plastic bag buried in Cummings Park. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the boy's death a homicide by multiple blunt force injuries to the head.

Ismalej-Gomez, a Stamford resident, was located in a taxi early Tuesday morning on West Main Street, police said.

In the dramatic 42-second body camera footage, Stamford police officer Jeremy Cordova can be seen getting out of his patrol car and approaching the taxi at gunpoint.

Cordova shouted commands in Spanish to Ismalej-Gomez to show his hands and get out of the taxi. Ismalej-Gomez was then placed in handcuffs by another officer.

Police had a warrant for Ismalej-Gomez's arrest that charged him with violation of probation stemming from another arrest in 2021. He appeared in Stamford Superior Court Tuesday and is being held on a $3 million bond.

Police said they received information late Monday morning in reference to a possible kidnapping and a child who may have been harmed and buried in the area of the park.

Officers responded to the park and found fresh dirt that was disturbed, police said. Officers then unearthed a plastic bag containing the boy's remains.

Investigators first identified Ismalej-Gomez as a person of interest, and worked with local agencies such as the Norwalk Police Department, CT State Police, Westchester County Police and the FBI to locate him.

Investigators searched throughout the day and into the night, and early Tuesday at approximately 1:15 a.m., Stamford officers were alerted by a member of the community about a person fitting the description of Ismalej-Gomez.

About 15 minutes later, officers pulled over the taxi containing Ismalej-Gomez and he was arrested without incident, police said.

An investigation remains ongoing as police try to develop a timeline of events.

"This will continue to be all hands on deck," Capt. Thomas Scanlon of the SPD said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon at police headquarters. "We're throwing whatever resources we have at this investigation."

Read more on Tuesday's news conference here.