New Haven police officer faces DUI charge in Las Vegas court Saturday, put on administrative leave after crash that killed fellow officer Joshua Castellano
A New Haven police officer will appear in court in Las Vegas Saturday morning facing felony charges of driving under the influence and reckless driving in a crash that killed a fellow officer early Friday.
“The grief and the pain that the men and women of the police department are going through is that of [losing] a brother,” New Haven Police Chief Renee Dominguez, who was visibly emotional, said during a press conference outside the department headquarters on Saturday morning.
Officer Robert Ferraro was arrested for “showing signs of impairment” after the Rolls Royce he was driving crashed in Las Vegas, killing Joshua Castellano, a seven-year veteran of the New Haven Police Department. Ferraro, of East Haven, has been placed on paid administrative leave while the department conducts its own investigation, Dominguez said.
Two other officers, John Truhart of New Haven and Matthew Borges of Bethel, were also in the crash and had minor injuries, for which they were treated and released. Two women from Texas were also passengers of the vehicle.
According to court records and Las Vegas police, Ferraro was charged with a DUI after the crash, which occurred as the car travelled at a high speed into an intersection around 4 a.m. Friday. Ferraro is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Evidence from the scene, witness statements and videos show the vehicle lost control and crashed into another vehicle that was in a private driveway waiting to enter the street, according to the police report.
“The Rolls Royce exited the roadway to the right, colliding with [a] Ford Mustang,” the police report said. “The Rolls Royce continued westbound ... and collided with roadside utility poles, landscaping and a fire hydrant. The Rolls Royce overturned onto its roof, ejected the right front passenger from the vehicle and up righted itself before coming to rest.”
The ejected passenger was 35-year-old Castellano, a member of the Shooting Task Force. First responders administered life-saving measures and transported Castellano to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries.
On Saturday morning, Dominguez remembered Castellano, who was hired by the department in July 2014, as a hard worker who could connect with anyone on the force and on his beat.
“In the academy, you knew that Josh had the thing, the thing that’s not teachable,” said Dominguez, who was Castellano’s first supervisor when she was district manager for the Westville-West Hills district of the city.
“He is the officer who came to work every single day happy to be here,” she said. “He didn’t care what his assignment was; he was happy. He didn’t complain, he did his job with passion, he was compassionate. He was the full package.”
The department has stationed an officer around the clock with Castellano’s mother, she added.
“Our biggest concern is the wellbeing of our officers,” she said. “Our officers are under a lot of stress as it is, coupled with working long hours and keeping the citizens of New Haven safe. And now they’re also dealing with the loss of their own.”
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker offered his condolences in a written statement Friday afternoon.
“My thoughts and condolences are with the family of Officer Castellano as well as his friends and colleagues at the New Haven Police Department,” Elicker said. “Officer Castellano served our community for seven years. We’re thankful for Officer Castellano’s service; he will be greatly missed.”
Jessika Harkay can be reached at jharkay@courant.com. Eliza Fawcett can be reached at elfawcett@courant.com.
