ANSONIA – The Connecticut Office of the Inspector General on Friday released body cam footage from a fatal officer-involved shooting in Ansonia on the evening of Feb. 4.
In a preliminary status report released today, the inspector general detailed the events that led to the death of Jonathan Bell, 41.
According to the report, Bridgeport Police Department officers attempted to stop Bell’s car on Oak Street around 5:15 p.m. in connection to a report received of narcotics and weapons violations.
Bell fled and Bridgeport officers pursued him.
The chase led up Route 8 and into Ansonia, where Bell crashed into a porch on Division Street.
The camera footage then shows Bridgeport officers Matthew Hoffman, Wilberto Rivera-Colon, and Sgt. Chris Robinson approaching the vehicle, with Bell and a female passenger still inside.
Robinson is then seen breaking the glass on the driver’s side windows. Bell, with a cigarette in his mouth, appears to break through the remaining glass in his window, and Officer Rivera-Colon removed the female from the passenger seat.
Robinson approached the vehicle again and shone a flashlight in Bell’s face. Bell then appears to reach toward his console, at which point five gunshots are heard. The preliminary report states that all three officers fired their handguns.
Bell was then taken in an ambulance to Griffin Hospital in Derby, where he was pronounced dead at 6:44 p.m. The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be gunshot wounds to the head and torso.
The report does not mention whether Bell had a gun.
All three officers are on modified duty until the ongoing inspector general concludes the investigation into the shooting. Ansonia police, Bridgeport police, Connecticut State Police, and the Milford State’s Attorney’s office are also participating in the investigation.
The inspector general’s preliminary status report can be viewed below. Footage made public by the inspector general can be viewed at this link.
The video below is graphic.
