WATERBURY, Conn. — Two Waterbury police officers were hospitalized on Thursday after arresting a suspect who allegedly stole a vehicle, the city’s police department said in a release.
Jose Bellido-Rosado, 44, of Waterbury, was taken into custody and charged with theft of a motor vehicle, interfering with an officer, two counts of assault on a police officer and possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.
Around 10:23 a.m., Waterbury police officers with the department’s Auto-Theft Task Force responded to the parking lot of a shopping center on Wolcott Street after a 52-year-old woman said she had located her stolen car there, according to police. The woman had recently reported the car as stolen to Waterbury police.
Police said the woman told them she found her vehicle in the parking lot occupied by a man later identified as Bellido-Rosado. The woman confronted Bellido-Rosado and he exited the car. The woman took possession of the car and contacted police. She identified Bellido-Rosado to responding officers as he walked away from the area, police said.
When officers attempted to handcuff Bellido-Rosado, he pulled away and became combative, according to police. He allegedly bit one of the officers and attempted to take another officer’s firearm, causing the protective cover of the gun holster to break off during the struggle, according to police.
When Bellido-Rosado was taken into custody, police found a crack pipe in his possession, the release said.
Two of the officers involved were taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries sustained in the incident before being released, police said. Bellido-Rosado was also hospitalized and was being treated for minor injuries at the time of the release.
Police said Bellido-Rosado is a convicted felon who had an outstanding felony Violation of Probation warrant for a separate incident. Police said his bond had not yet been set.
The Waterbury State Attorney’s Office reviewed the arrest and said the officers’ use of force was “reasonable and justified during the arrest of Bellido-Rosado,” police said.
The city released bodycam footage of the incident. Click on the links below to view. CAUTION: Some images may be disturbing and the audio may contain offensive language.
Following the incident, Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski Jr. released a statement.
“Unfortunately, the use of force is sometimes inevitable to stop a suspect from resisting. In this case, as the body camera footage clearly shows, as the suspect was brought to the ground, he was actively reaching for one of our officer’s firearms,” Pernerewski Jr. said in a release.
He went on to commend the responding officers for their judgment and “great restraint” in bringing the “highly combative suspect” into custody.
“The level of force these officers used was appropriate for the level of resistance the officers faced,” Pernerewski Jr. said, in the release. “Our police officers put their lives on the line each day to protect and serve our community and I am thankful that in this case, their training and experience led to a successful arrest with minimal injuries.”
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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