The Connecticut Office of Inspector General released police body camera footage Monday along with a preliminary report following an officer-involved shooting in Hartford on Friday.
The body camera footage was obtained from the four officers who responded to a report of a man armed with a knife experiencing an apparent mental health crisis. (Warning; Video contains graphic images and explicit language)
The footage shows an officer arriving at the scene for less than 40 seconds before he fired nine shots at the man after three officers had pleaded with the man numerous times to drop the blade. Inspector General Eliot Prescott identified the man who was shot as 55-year-old Steven Jones, who remains in critical condition, and the policeman who shot him as Officer Joseph Magnano.
The incident is the second officer-involved shooting in Hartford in a little over a week involving men who were armed with a knife and experiencing a mental health episode. Both incidents have drawn calls for transparency and more attention to the ways individuals with mental health issues are handled.
According to the preliminary report, a family member of Jones called 911 around 11 a.m. last Friday and said he was having an acute mental health crisis. The family member told authorities Jones had cut himself and had a knife in his hand.
Officer Josue Charles was the first to arrive at the home on Blue Hills Avenue at 11:07 a.m. His body camera footage shows a man speaking with Jones as Jones, who is holding a large knife, is on the front stoop of a home. The man walks away as Charles begins asking Jones to get rid of the knife.
“Have him drop the knife,” Charles tells the unidentified man.
As Charles gets behind his cruiser, Jones can be seen walking toward him in the street, the footage shows. Charles then circles around the cruiser and onto a sidewalk, which puts a barrier of snow between him and Jones, who can be seen standing in the street.
Charles continues asking Jones to drop the knife before a woman can be heard screaming.
“No, that’s my brother,” the woman shouts.
“I’m not gonna shoot him,” Charles tells her, the footage shows.
The woman continues to scream as Jones stumbles in the street and Charles asks him multiple more times to drop the knife.
A little over a minute after arriving at the scene, Charles draws his taser. He tried deploying the device multiple times but it did not properly fire, Prescott wrote in the report.
Officer James Prignano arrived about two minutes after Charles and immediately begins telling Jones multiple times “We don’t want to shoot you,” the footage shows.
About two minutes into the exchange, Jones begins galloping toward Prignano, who is able to back away and keep his distance from him as the two are in the middle of the street. Jones then slows down to a walk and continues to advance toward Prignano, who backs away as police call for Jones multiple more times to drop the blade.
Jones then appears to stop his advance toward Prignano and stands on the side of the street, as Officer Jackeline Torres arrives. Torres, Prignano and Charles can then be seen on the footage forming a circle around him before Officer Joseph Magnano arrives at the scene at 11:12 a.m., Prescott wrote in his report.
Magnano’s body camera footage shows that he immediately exits his cruiser and makes his way toward Jones, who was surrounded by the other officers. Torres asks Magnano if he has a taser, and he tells her “no” as he gets closer to Jones, the footage shows. A woman could be heard nearby shouting “don’t shoot him,” according to the footage.
Magnano immediately begins calling for Jones to drop the knife. Prignano appears to motion with his hand for Magnano to ease his demands toward Jones, who then starts walking toward Magnano, the footage shows.
Magnano appears to tell Jones to drop the knife about 12 times before he fires.
“You’re gonna get shot,” Magnano tells Jones, the footage shows. “Drop the knife.”
“Last time, drop the knife,” Magnano shouts as he was backed up into the Blue Hills Avenue and Euclid Street intersection.
Magnano then fires nine shots toward Jones, who immediately collapses to the ground as people in the area could be heard letting out horrific screams and cries.
Magnano was at the scene less than 40 seconds from the time he got out of his cruiser to when he opened fire. He could be heard screaming expletives immediately after the shooting.
According to Prescott, Jones suffered numerous gunshot wounds. Torres provided medical attention to Jones before he was rushed to a hospital. He remained in critical condition as of Monday, Prescott said.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Office of the Inspector General with assistance from the state police’s Central District Major Crime Squad. The officers who were involved have been placed on paid administrative leave, Hartford Lt. Aaron Boisvert said.
Hartford City Council President T.J. Clarke II issued a statement following the shooting on behalf of the council asking for “transparency and accountability consistent with Connecticut’s police accountability laws.”
“It is essential that the facts surrounding this incident be communicated clearly, responsibly, and in a timely manner to maintain public trust and ensure justice,” Clarke said.
“The Hartford City Council expresses deep concern following the police-involved shooting that occurred last Friday morning in the City of Hartford,” Clarke said “We extend our prayers and sincere concern to all individuals and families impacted, and we recognize the fear, grief, and uncertainty such incidents can bring to our community.”
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam also released a statement saying “there will be a full review of the officer-involved shooting that took place today in the Blue Hills, and I will use my office and my voice to ensure it is done in a thorough, transparent, and timely manner.”
“The public has a right to clear answers on this — I plan to make sure they get them.” Arulampalam said.
“As mayor, I recognize that any officer-involved shooting impacts the trust between our residents and the Hartford Police Department. Our city is grieving today. This is a heavy burden for our community to carry, and I want to express my deepest sympathies to the families and neighbors feeling the weight of this pain.”
Corrie Betts, president of the Greater Hartford Branch of the NAACP, released a statement last week expressing the group’s concerns with the two recent officer-involved shootings.
“The Greater Hartford Branch of the NAACP is deeply disturbed by the two recent police shootings in our region, including the most recent incident on Blue Hills, both involving individuals experiencing mental health crises,” Betts said in a statement.
“Mental health crisis should not be a death sentence,” he said in the statement.
On Feb. 19, 53-year-old Everard Walker was shot and killed in his Capitol Avenue apartment after his family called 211 for help when he ran out of his medication, family members said at a news conference. Two social workers and police responded to the apartment.
After an exchange that lasted about an hour, police entered Walker’s apartment when Walker attempted to close the apartment door and was being physically restrained by his son, according to a preliminary report released by Prescott. A physical altercation then ensued, leading to Walker raising what Prescott said was a knife, video shows.
Prescott said Officer Alexander Clifford fired multiple shots at Walker as he appeared poised to stab another policeman at the scene. Walker was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Information from Courant reporter Sean Krofssik was used in this report.