By Josh LaBella
New Haven Register, Conn.
WINDSOR, Conn. — A town police officer is facing charges after a state investigation found he was not justified in shooting at a suspect fleeing from him in January, officials say.
State Inspector General Robert Devlin said in a report released Tuesday that Windsor Police Officer Brandon Thomas fired one round from his department-issued firearm at Geovanni Nunez on the night of Jan. 30.
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Devlin said the incident happened after Nunez fled from Thomas, who was trying to stop him after noticing that the license plates on the man’s Jeep Liberty parked at a Sunoco gas station on Windsor Avenue were registered to another vehicle.
Devlin said Thomas warned that, if Nunez did not stop, he would tase him.
“When Nunez continued to flee, Officer Thomas unholstered his actual firearm and fired one round at Nunez,” he said. “Nunez was not hit and subsequently was taken into custody.”
Devlin said he has determined the use of force was not justified.
“Nunez posed no threat of harm to Officer Thomas,” he said. “He was being pursued for misuse of a marker plate (an infraction) and interfering with an officer (a misdemeanor). There was no reasonable basis to use deadly force.”
With that, Devlin said his office has obtained a warrant to arrest Thomas and charge him with second-degree reckless endangerment and unlawful discharge of a firearm.
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Windsor Police Chief Donald Melanson said in a news release that Thomas has remained on restricted duty since the incident. Melanson said he has been with the department for just more than three years and has no prior incidents involving questionable use of force.
“This was a mistake made in a high-stress, fast-evolving situation,” he said. “While we fully respect the role and authority of the Inspector General, we believe the facts in this case do not warrant an arrest or charges.”
Melanson said Nunez was charged that night with interfering with police and possession of marijuana after he was found with 10 ounces of the drug and a scale. He said Nunez also had an outstanding warrant from Meriden police for offenses such as first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a pistol or revolver and criminal use of a weapon.
“Thanks to the officer’s proactive police work, a dangerous fugitive was taken off the streets without harm to anyone,” he said.
No one with Nunez’s name has pending charges or convictions in the Connecticut’s online court database.
Melanson said law enforcement agencies across the state, are concerned about the broader implications of decisions like the one Devlin and his office made.
“Criminally charging officers for unintentional errors — particularly when no injury occurred — has a chilling effect on proactive policing,” Melanson said. “Officers would be hesitant to take decisive action for fear that a mistake under stress could cost them their careers — or their freedom. This also worsens recruitment and retention at a time when departments nationwide are struggling to maintain adequate staffing.”
Melanson said none of that lessens the department’s commitment to accountability, and officers must be held accountable for their actions.
“But when there is no malice, no injury, and no history of misconduct, administrative discipline, retraining, and corrective action are often more effective and appropriate than criminal charges,” he said.
In Devlin’s report, Thomas said he meant to discharge his Taser at Nunez, and immediately knew upon discharging it that he had fired his pistol.
In the body camera footage from the incident, Thomas appears to be checking out the Jeep when Nunez and his friend come out of the gas station. He tries to stop him, but Nunez takes off running.
“Stop running or I’m going to (expletive) tase you,” Thomas says, while pulling out his handgun.
Thomas fires his pistol once, then says “Oh (expletive), I did not mean to do that.” He then pulls out his Taser and fires it before the video ends.
Devlin the pursuit ended when both Nunez and Thomas fell into a frozen brook. He said Nunez was then taken into custody.
Nunez accused Thomas of shooting at him after the arrest, Devlin said, and Thomas denied it and said he only had used his Taser.
In the body-camera footage from the incident, Nunez is heard saying “I heard a gun. He shot a gun.” Officers speaking to him deny it, to which Nunez said he knew “the difference between a gun and a Taser.” Officers continue to go back and forth with Nunez about whether Thomas shot at him.
Devlin said Thomas later told a supervisor that he had accidentally fired his gun. He said a firearms analysis determined that an expended cartridge casing recovered at the scene was fired from Thomas’ firearm.
“Following the shooting, Officer Thomas received remedial training on Taser use,” he said. “During an exercise to evaluate his performance and decision making under pressure, he again mistakenly attempted to draw his firearm instead of his Taser.”
Devlin said the investigation found the shooting was not justified.
“Officer Thomas did not face the threat of use or imminent use of deadly force from Nunez,” he said. “Moreover, there was no basis to use deadly force to arrest Nunez. His offense of misuse of a marker plate was not a felony involving the infliction of serious physical injury. No reasonably trained police officer would have tried to shoot Nunez in this situation.”
While some may argue that, because no one was struck by gunfire, there should not be anybody prosecuted, Devlin said, the Police Accountability Act frame the law differently.
“It is the officer’s use of deadly force that triggers an investigation not the result of that use. It is not about marksmanship,” he said. “A police officer’s use of deadly force does not become more justifiable because the officer misses the target, nor is it less justifiable if the target is hit.”
Devlin said Thomas acted unlawfully and recklessly, and the situation is now in the hands of the courts.
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