Police1 Staff Report
(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) -- A police officer who shot out the tires of a car at a New Year’s sobriety checkpoint has been suspended with pay pending a disciplinary hearing.
Officer Shafiq Abdus-Sabur, who has been with the New Haven Police Department for four years, faces charges of conduct unbecoming an officer, violating firearms regulations and being in a continuing course of conduct in violation of department rules.
The New Haven Register reports that Abdus-Sabur told investigators that he disabled Daily Jackson’s car because the 19-year-old driver was revving the engine and he feared he was about to take off, possibly striking an officer standing in front of the car.
Police Chief Melvin H. Wearing announced Wednesday that he was forwarding the case to the Board of Police Commissioners instead of handling it himself. The president of the police union defends Abdus-Sabur’s actions and predicts he will be cleared.