Officials have released the cause of death of a man who died days after he was shot by a police officer in Hartford during a mental health crisis.
An autopsy found that 55-year-old Steven Jones died of complications of gunshot wounds involving his torso, according to Connecticut Inspector General Eliot Prescott. The death was ruled a homicide.
A follow-up preliminary report released by Prescott on Friday said an autopsy was performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Wednesday, a day after Jones died in a hospital after initially being listed in critical condition. Officials are still awaiting the results of a toxicology analysis, Prescott said.
Jones was shot during an incident on Blue Hills Avenue on Feb. 27 after a family member called 911 and said he had cut himself and was armed with a knife, according to Prescott’ report.
Body camera footage from the officers who responded to the scene showed that Jones advanced toward multiple policemen in the street with a knife in his hand. Officers gave numerous commands for him to drop the blade before three officers formed a circle around Jones in the street with a small snowbank and sidewalk to his back.
Hartford police bodycam footage shows man shot at nine times following mental health call
Officer Joseph Magnano arrived at the scene and, upon approaching the area of Jones and the other officers, immediately began shouting for him to drop the knife, the footage showed. Jones walked toward Magnano as he backed his way in the street and toward an intersection.
Magnano called for Jones to drop the knife multiple times and warned him that he would be shot before firing nine rounds at him, according to the footage and the report.
The officers involved in the incident remain on paid administrative leave while Magnano’s use of force is investigated by Prescott’s office.
Jones was killed just a little over a week after 53-year-old Everard Walker was shot and killed by a Hartford officer in his Capitol Avenue apartment. Social workers and police had gone to the unit after Walker’s family called 211 and asked for mental health services.
The footage released from the incident shows Walker raising a knife in what Prescott said appeared to be an attempt to stab a policeman. Officer Alexander Clifford fired multiple rounds at Walker, who later died at a hospital.
Both shootings have led to demonstrations and calls from advocates for better services for individuals with mental health struggles.