|
Magnano was charged Monday by the Connecticut Inspector General
after he turned himself into law enforcement, according to
Hartford Police Union President James Rutkauski.
Information about his attorney was not immediately available.
The shooting drew widespread public outcry and questions over
Hartford’s policies around responding to people in mental
distress.
Body camera footage showed Magnano arriving at the scene as
three other officers were in the process of trying to calm
Jones, who had used the knife to cut himself and was suicidal,
according to a 911 call made by his sister.
While the officers kept their distance from Jones and spoke to
him softly, Magnano immediately began shouting at him to drop
the knife. He then fired nine shots at Jones, less than a minute
after leaving his vehicle.
In an arrest warrant issued Monday, the Connecticut Inspector
General said their investigation found Magnano “did not engage
in de-escalation measures (and) he failed to make reasonable
attempts to use non-lethal force.”
The report also concluded that Jones “did not pose an imminent
threat to bystanders,” and that Magnano had “ample space” to
back away from him.
“To the extent Magnano subjectively believed that Jones posed a
risk of serious physical injuries to bystanders in the area,
Magnano made no effort to move bystanders out of any perceived
harm’s way,” the warrant noted.
In his own sworn incident report, Magnano wrote that he was
“fearful of Jones making a sudden lunge towards either an
officer or citizen.”
At a news conference Monday, Rutkauski, the police union head,
accused the inspector general's office of rushing its findings,
adding that Magnano was “defending his fellow officers, the
community, himself.”
The civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Jones’
family, called the charges a “necessary and meaningful step
toward accountability.”
“Stevie was in the middle of a mental health crisis, and instead
of receiving the care he needed, he was shot nine times,” Crump
said in a statement. “This charge reflects what the family has
known all along, that what happened to Stevie was not
justified.”
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
