The Associated Press
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - State police and prosecutors are investigating the shooting death of a city man by three police officers in what appeared to be a “suicide by cop” situation Tuesday night.
The man, 41-year-old Jonathan Mosley, apparently attacked the officers with a baseball bat in an apartment at the Bridgeport Commons complex off Central Avenue, the Connecticut Post reported.
Police said Mosley told the officers, “You’ve got to kill me,” before lunging at them with his bat.
Authorities said the officers fired as many as 10 shots, but it was not immediately clear how many bullets hit Mosley, an ex-convict with a lengthy prison record and a history of violence, the newspaper reported.
Mosley was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was taken to the chief medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.
Officers Damien E. Csech, Jason J. Amato and Sean Lynch responded to a 911 call from a 31-year-old woman in a second-floor apartment at the apartment complex at 8:10 p.m. She said her ex-boyfriend, Mosley, was at her door and threatening her, Police Chief Wilbur L. Chapman said.
“He was acting violently,” the chief said, adding that he was banging on the door with the bat. “He was upset, extremely agitated, clearly bent on doing harm to her.”
Chapman said Mosley refused to drop the bat despite several orders to do so by the officers. The officers opened fire when Mosley swung the bat at them, Chapman said.
The three officers were treated for psychological trauma at Bridgeport Hospital and released.
“They’re going to be taking a couple of mental health days off,” said Sheila Santiago, police spokeswoman.
The state’s attorney’s office and state police are investigating the attack, Chapman said.
Chapman said Mosley, who served 12 years in prison for manslaughter, was not allowed in the building because of a restraining order filed by the woman. He had several domestic violence incidents with her in the past, the chief said.
The building is located in the same complex where three city residents - including a 5-year-old boy - were found shot to death in March 1990, neighbors said.