Hartford Police Officer Charged With Assault

HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford police officer was arrested and accused of hitting a woman in the face after she spat at him.

Sgt. James S. Guzie, 47, was charged with third-degree assault. He turned himself in Monday after a warrant was issued for his arrest based on an investigation by the Hartford Police Department and Hartford State’s Attorney Sharmese L. Walcott.

On March 15, Guzie and other members of the police department were in the booking area where an arrested woman was going through booking process, according to the warrant.

"Video shows that Guzie struck the arrestee in the face with a closed fist after the arrestee spat at Guzie," according to a news release by the State's Attorney's Office. "An initial internal investigation by the Hartford Police Department prompted a notification to the State’s Attorney’s Office. Once notified about the incident, a full investigation was requested by this office. The result of that investigation is that probable cause exists that the force used by Guzie following being assaulted was unreasonable under all the circumstances."

Guzie is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on May 19 for arraignment.

According to media reports, the arrested woman, Felicia Jenkins, 44, was charged with second-degree breach of peace and first-degree trespassing in connection to a domestic violence incident.

Officers said she seemed intoxicant and belligerent at the time, The Hartford Courant reported. Police said she used racial slurs against a Black officer, media reports state.

Hartford police Chief Jason Thody said that no matter what the behavior of the person being arrested was, Guzie "should never have reacted the way he did and it's simply unacceptable," NBC CT reported.

Guzie wrote in a report that he hit Jenkins because he was concerned she was going to attack him. He wrote that the strike was "delivered quick to cause a stunning effect to Jenkins to end her assaultive behavior," according to NBC CT.

However, investigators noted in a report that a hit to the head is not recommended except in "extreme cases of self-defense."