Armed Man Shot By Hartford Police Officer Dies: Report

HARTFORD, CT — A man shot by a Hartford police officer Saturday night died as a result of his injuries on Sunday, according to WTNH News 8.

The shooting occurred at 9 p.m. Saturday near 14-16 Gilman St. Police responded to a report of an armed man "acting erratically," News 8 reports. Police said the armed man, whose name has not yet been released, refused to lower his gun after being told to do so, News 8 reports.

Ashley Martinez, a 4-year police officer, fired the shot. The incident is under investigation by CT State Police.

>>>Read More at News 8.

Police Chief Jason C. Thody released a statement on Sunday:

Dear Elected Officials and Community Partners,

I wanted to update you on last night’s shooting by an officer. Today the Mayor spoke to the State’s Attorney from Milford and emphasized how important it is to get as much information about this incident out to the public as soon as possible, including body camera footage. I spoke to her last night as well. She said her office will work expeditiously to get footage of the incident out, potentially as soon as tomorrow. She said she would authorize the release of photos depicting the weapons the individual was holding later today.

The State’s Attorney is leading the independent investigation, and we are cooperating fully with that. That being said, we want to get as much information about this out to the public as possible, and so this afternoon we held a press conference to describe the incident in more detail. I have reviewed footage from multiple body cameras, a nearby building, as well as the initial 911 call. The initial call was a complaint about a male armed with a firearm outside the home. The State will be conducting the investigation into the full circumstances of the initial call.

Officers arrived on the scene within minutes and found the individual in possession of both a handgun and an assault rifle. Over the course of what appears to be about eight minutes, the individual walks around the neighborhood, jumping fences, sometimes in sight of the officers and sometimes out of sight, sometimes running and sometimes walking. Collectively, the officers attempt to establish a perimeter and repeatedly ask him to put his weapon down. They then find him in the parking lot area of
14-16 Gilman Street

in the back, standing with the assault rifle behind a dumpster. The parking lot is directly adjacent to a residential building, and multiple officers position themselves around the parking lot, continuing to plead with him to drop the weapon. This was an extremely volatile and dangerous situation, and based on my conversations with officers on the scene, there were residents of the adjacent building who were understandably peeking out of windows to see what was going on. Multiple officers are heard saying things like, “drop the gun,” “please drop the gun,” “put it down,” again and again. At least two officers are heard referencing the fact that the individual is pointing the weapon at them.

Officer Ashley Martinez is heard saying “he’s pointing it,” and then she fired her weapon once, striking him. She is a four-year veteran of the Department. Body camera footage then shows multiple officers approaching the individual, and the individual can be seen still holding the assault rifle, and the rifle is pointed in the direction of the officers. They begin to render aid immediately. He was transported to Hartford Hospital, and we learned from the State Police that earlier this morning he passed away.

No matter the circumstance, any loss of life is a tragedy, and our prayers are with his family. We are very lucky that no other civilians or any officers were hurt in this unfortunate incident.

I anticipate that the State Police and/or State’s Attorney will be releasing more information in the days ahead, and we will continue to cooperate fully in their investigation.