WestHartfordpolice officer shot, killed suspected car thief who refused to stop, chief says

Aug. 8—One man, Lyle Solsbury, was arrested in connection with the incident, police said. Solsbury, 47, of West Hartford, was charged with interfering with an officer, larceny of a motor vehicle (second offense) and conspiracy to commit larceny of a motor vehicle (second offense).

During a news conference Wednesday, West Hartford Police Chief Vernon Riddick said the incident began around 5 p.m. Tuesday as officers were traveling eastbound on New Britain Avenue behind a stolen vehicle with two people inside.

Riddick said the vehicle was involved in a crash on New Britain Avenue near the South Street intersection after an officer deployed stop sticks. Both occupants then exited the vehicle and began running away, he said.

One of the occupants was reported to be heading eastbound on New Britain Avenue, according to Riddick. The person was pursued by officers and located in the 1000 block of New Britain Avenue, Riddick said.

The other occupant was spotted at Town Fair Tire at 980 New Britain Ave. by the officer who had deployed the stop sticks, according to Riddick. The person was fighting with a Town Fair Tire employee inside a car, Riddick said.

After the officer ordered the employee to step away, the officer's K-9 entered the vehicle, according to Riddick.

Riddick said the officer then entered the vehicle to retrieve his K-9 and execute the arrest. While the officer was inside the vehicle, Riddick said, the suspect put the vehicle in drive and drove away, striking a police cruiser and then a civilian car.

Riddick said the officer inside the vehicle fired his gun after the suspect repeatedly ignored commands to stop and the vehicle crashed into a telephone pole. Officers responding to the scene rendered aid and provided CPR, Riddick said.

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Few other details have emerged about the confrontation or the initial incident that drew law enforcement to the scene. West Hartford police said the shooting is under investigation by state police and the state Inspector General's office, which has been in charge of investigating police use-of-force incidents in Connecticut since 2021.

Authorities also have not said if body camera footage or other video of the shooting exists. State law requires body or dash cam video from police shootings to be made public 48 hours after the officer reviews it or within 96 hours after the recorded incident. West Hartford police began wearing body cameras last year.

The Town Fair Tire on New Britain Avenue opened late Wednesday morning, while an AutoMax next door appeared to be closed. Town Fair Tire employees and workers at nearby Pep Boys declined to comment about the incident.

Sgt. Amanda Martin, a spokesperson for the West Hartford Police Department, said Solsbury was assigned a $250,000 bond and was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

Police shootings in Connecticut

The office of the Inspector General was created in 2021 as part of the police accountability act state lawmakers passed in response to protests following the killing of George Floyd. Robert J. Devlin Jr., a former federal prosecutor and state judge, was appointed to a four-year term in the newly created role that same year.

The office investigates police use-of-force incidents and is responsible for prosecuting cases where authorities believe police unlawfully used force.

The state police major crime squads typically also investigate shootings by members of local police departments.

John DeCarlo, former police chief of Branford, said the state police major crime units are usually used as the "data collection arm" of the police shooting investigation.

After the shooting, the police department will be focused on "fact-finding and reaching out to the agencies that they will be working with," said DeCarlo, who now works as a researcher and director of the University of New Haven's master's program in criminal justice.

That includes contacting state police and Devlin's office, he said.

The state police major crime units "are an excellent unit to start collecting evidence, photographing the scene, taking statements," and the other things "that are constituent to a investigation of this sort," DeCarlo added.

Those investigators will be searching for "physical evidence," he said. "They'll be looking for cartridges, they'll be looking at inspecting firearms."

Investigators will also look at the "interactions" between the person who was shot and the police, DeCarlo said, as well as searching for video evidence from the scene. They will also look for "documentary" evidence, DeCarlo said, such as the initial call that drew police to the scene and what was said to the dispatcher. They'll also pull the officer's employment records and any prior arrests of the individual who was shot.

"Basically, they're going to be looking for what made it happen, why it happened and what the interactions were that led up to it," he added.

So far in 2023, Devlin's office and state police are investigating three police shootings. The shooting in West Hartford on Tuesday was the first of 2023 where someone died, according to the reports from the inspector general's office.

The most recent occurred on July 16, when Manchester police said Officer Haylee Ouellette was called to an address on North Main Street for a reported domestic disturbance. During the call, Oullette was confronted by Joseph Diloreto, who was wielding a knife, the inspector general's office said in a news release. Ouellette fired several rounds at Diloreto after trying to stop him with a Taser, ultimately hitting him in the upper thigh. He was then handcuffed and later taken to the hospital.

On May 9, State Trooper Romello Lumpkin shot Byron Harvey in Brooklyn after authorities tried to evict the 59-year-old. Devlin's office said Harvey made suicidal remarks and was holding a knife. When he stood and approached the state police at the scene, one of them fired a Taser and the Lumpkin shot him with his handgun. Harvey was then flown to UMass Hospital in Worcester, Mass.

On Jan. 5, East Haven Police Lt. Kevin Klarman shot at Nicholas Gambardella after a pursuit on Interstate 95 that ended in Milford. Devlin's office said Gambardella then ran across the highway and appeared to reach and turn toward the pursuing officers in a grassy area just off the highway, prompting Klarman to fire at him. None of the shots hit Gambardella.

Staff writers Jessica Bravo and Joshua LaBella contributed to this story.