HARTFORD, Conn. — WARNING: The video above shows footage of a shooting.
Newly released body camera footage shows the moment a Hartford police officer was shot at while in her cruiser last month.
The Hartford Police Department released the body camera footage on Monday from the incident on Oct. 26, when a man opened fire at the police cruiser. Officials called it an “unprovoked attack” at one of the city’s officers.
The female officer was inside her cruiser around 1:30 a.m. at a parking lot on Main Street when she was approached by a man – later identified as Jose Cajigas.
In the video, the unidentified officer asked Cajigas if he needed any assistance or an ambulance because he appeared to be drunk. She can be heard asking him to sit at the hood of her vehicle to wait for an ambulance to arrive.
It was at the moment that Cajigas allegedly started shooting, hitting the cruiser multiple times. The gunshots hit the driver’s side window, narrowly missing the officer.
“She asked him a couple of questions and then he violently attacked her out of nowhere. Obviously shocking,” Anthony Rinaldi, president of the Hartford Police Union, said.
In the video, the officer is seen maneuvering the cruiser out of way to safety. She was injured by the shattered glass.
Assisting officers pursued Cajigas and safely took him into custody. The firearm used was found at the scene.
The police department is not releasing the officer’s identity for her privacy.
Cajigas is facing murder charges and his bond was set at $2 million.
After the incident, Cajigas was identified as a person of interest in a homicide that happened on Spring Street on Oct. 25. He had been previously arrested on Oct. 15 for violation of probation and possession of a firearm.
“If somebody is brought up on charges especially serious charges like carrying illegal firearm, you should have to face those consequences, you should remain in jail," Rinaldi added. "You shouldn’t be out on bond. That should have never, ever happened."
Police Chief Jason Thody said Cajigas has been arrested 13 times in Hartford – three of which were gun arrests.
"This was an unprovoked attack on one of our officers that was trying to provide assistance to her attacker,” Thody said in a statement at the time. “It puts a spotlight on the dangers police officers face, even in some of the most routine situations. I am thankful that she showed bravery and quick-thinking to escape her attacker while keeping him in sight until her fellow officers could assist. All of the officers involved did an outstanding job in taking a dangerous individual into custody, making our community a safer place, and ensuring that all of our officers went home safe at the end of the shift."
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