By Brian Zahn
New Haven Register, Conn.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A state police trooper is suing New Haven and Cheshire, plus two police officers from those municipalities, over injuries he said were sustained during a motorcycle procession escorting the body of a slain police officer to his hometown.
In a lawsuit filed late last month, state trooper John Myer claims he required back surgery after a prior injury was aggravated when he was struck from the rear after an officer in front of him abruptly braked while entering the highway. At the time, Myer and other officers were participating in a procession to transport the body of slain Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell from Bradley International Airport back to his hometown of New Haven on June 12, 2024.
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In the lawsuit, which names the two municipalities and Cheshire officer Lester Zimnoch and New Haven officer Eric Pesino in their personal capacities as defendants, Myer claimed that during the journey from Windsor Locks to New Haven, Zimnoch was riding immediately ahead of him and “kept tapping his brakes, a practice that is not done during formation” before making an “abrupt braking maneuver” near the entrance ramp to the highway. Myer claims he abruptly braked his motorcycle in response after which Pesino’s vehicle collided into Myer. The lawsuit claims Zimnoch and Pesino acted negligently, causing injuries to Myer and creating medical expenses. New Haven and Cheshire, which carry liability for their officers’ actions, are also named as defendants.
Attorney Jeffrey Donofrio , who represents Cheshire, declined to comment. Myer’s attorney Jeff Ment did not offer comment beyond the claims laid out in the complaint. A representative for New Haven did not respond to a request for comment. Attorneys for neither New Haven nor Cheshire had yet to file responses to the allegations as of Tuesday morning.
According to information from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, Mitchell, a New Haven native, was working a shift as a Minneapolis police officer and was en route to a reported double shooting when he stopped to render aid to Mustafa Mohamed , whose femur was broken by an intervening bystander and appeared to be a victim but was in fact the perpetrator. Mohamed shot Mitchell dead before responding police officers killed Mohamed.
The June 2024 procession began with about three dozen officers on motorcycles in Windsor Locks who were joined by Mitchell’s hearse. They were met by roughly 50 officers and 25 firefighters upon arrival in New Haven.
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