The Associated Press
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP)-- A Bristol detective who was accidentally shot in the foot by a state police trooper seven years ago is suing the trooper and the state.
Detective Robert Mendela was shot in the foot on May 18, 1996 when a submachine gun carried by Trooper Timothy O’Hanlon went off while a group of officers attempted to take Brent McCall, a suspect who shot a police officer, into custody.
McCall was convicted in 1997 of shooting city police Officer John Reilly after Reilly went to investigate a domestic disturbance. McCall was also involved in a shootout with two city detectives before he was apprehended.
The complaint filed on Mendela’s behalf claims O’Hanlon failed to make his weapon safe before approaching the scene.
State police claimed at the time that officers who were kicking McCall jostled O’Hanlon and caused the gun to discharge.
The lawsuit, which was filed recently in New Britain Superior Court, claims Mendela suffered a permanent injury to his left foot and was unable to work for awhile.