HARTFORD, Conn. — A person has died following a shooting by a Hartford police officer on Monday afternoon, according to Mayor Luke Bronin.
According to Bronin, a male individual was shot in the area of Westland and Barbour Streets.
The victim was a man in his forties according to police.
“Death is all around Hartford. That’s it. Hartford got a black cloud over it,” said Tylon Dawson, who lives in the area.
Hartford police received a dispatch call about a car with an armed person threatening others, said Bronin.
Officers pulled the car over, and an individual on the passenger side got out of the car and aimed and fired a handgun at the police officer. As the individual approached, the officer returned fire, said Bronin.
That exchange happened near Urban Hope Refuge Church where Pastor AJ Johnson’s wife witnessed the aftermath.
“As she was turning in, she saw a man on the ground. She thought he was drunk or something, only to see an officer behind him,” said Johnson. “It seems like this is happening every week and unfortunately it’s happened once again at our front steps.”
The individual was taken to the hospital, where he died due to his injuries, according to Bronin.
"I know that this is difficult and painful for our community to experience," said Bronin in a Facebook post.
Archbishop Dexter Burke, a pastor with the Walk in the Light Church of God and founder of the Black & Hispanic Unity Alliance, said in a statement regarding the shooting:
Law enforcement officers risk their lives everyday while serving and protecting the public. It is unfortunate that a human life was lost in the captioned incident, however, the community cannot condone individuals who would blatantly point a loaded weapon and shoot at a uniformed Police Officer standing next to his cruiser with lights activated. It is also important to note that within the immediate vicinity of the incident were a children’s day care, residential homes, active businesses, and place of worship.
The Officer acted honorably by defending both himself and the public by eliminating the threat this individual posed not only to the Officer, but to public safety. The community MUST send a strong message that urban terrorists will be flushed from our communities.
The state inspector general will investigate.
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