State police investigating the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have focused some of their efforts on the police response, interviewing local officers to iron out inconsistencies in their version of events and examining decisions made in the minutes before they entered the school, sources with direct knowledge of the probe have told the Courant.
“We know that our response will be heavily scrutinized as it should be and I am confident that our officers acted aggressively and appropriately in response to a chaotic scene,” Police Union President Scott Ruszczyk said. “I think it’s pretty tough to second guess the guys who were there responding to a chaotic scene.”
Among the aspects of the response under scrutiny was a decision by the first responding Newtown officer to park nearly a quarter mile away at the top of the driveway to the school and wait for other officers to arrive, sources familiar with the investigation said. Those officers moved to the school on foot along the tree line.
Using dispatch calls, video from cruisers and recordings of body microphones worn by local and state police officers, detectives have put together a detailed timeline that makes no conclusions about the response, the sources said.
Dispatch records indicate the first 911 call came in just before 9:36 and the first officer arrived at the school at about 9:37:30. The dispatch tapes indicate there were officers in the school at 9:44, but don’t make clear exactly when the first officer entered.
Parts of the timeline are expected to be included in Danbury State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky’s report that is scheduled to be issued on Nov. 25. Sedensky met with families last week to allow them to review a draft of his final report.