SHELTON, Conn. — Shelton police have released body camera footage of an arrest made last month following calls from the public to release the video.
The incident happened back on Dec. 29. It started when an anonymous caller told police, they were worried about another person's safety. They told police that the person is in a domestic situation and they sent a text message with a code word that means they need help.
The caller told police that every time police go there, the male makes the victim stays quiet and that the male "flips out, throws things, and hits the victim."
The video shows the moments officers arrive at the home. When officers arrive faint arguing can be heard in the home. A man, identified as Gordon Cole, opens the door.
At one point an officer can be seen moving him out of the way to try to get to another person in the home.
It appears there is another adult and children inside at the time. For about 10 minutes officers try to get Cole to come outside. Officers can be seen talking to the other adult in the home and eventually tell Cole they believe he is violating a protective order and will be taken into custody.
About 20 minutes in things start to escalate when officers try to place Cole under arrest.
A few minutes later officers take him out of the home and put him in a police cruiser.
Following this incident, there were calls from the public for police to release the body cam footage. Including Black Lives Matter 860.
"What we were here to do first of all is seek transparency. We had strong concerns that the initial FOIAs were ignored or declined," said Ivelisse Correa, vice president of Black Lives Matter 860.
Shelton police said under Connecticut law police are not required to release body cam footage from domestic violence incidents. They worked with the Milford State's Attorney on the issue and redacted the video to protect victims' privacy.
Black Lives Matter 860 said they had other concerns about the way the arrest was made.
"We had concerns because Mr. Cole if he did need to be restrained, was restrained into A pliable couch which did impede his breathing rather than take him down to the floor which might be customary," Correa said.
Cole is facing several charges for the incident including interfering with an officer, risk of injury to a child, and seven counts of violating a protective order.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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