Report: Derby Police Officer's Shooting Of Irrational Man With Gun Was Justified

Photo By Eugene Driscoll

Police at the scene the day of the shooting.

DERBY — An investigation by the state’s Office of Inspector General released on Wednesday concludes that the November 2021 shooting of a 29-year-old man by a Derby police officer on Division Street was justified.

​“Briefly stated, the investigation established that at the time Officer (Patrick) Foley discharged his firearm, (Corneilius) McCullough was unlawfully firing a handgun at an occupied vehicle or threatened imminent use of deadly force against Foley,” the report states.

McCullough survived the shooting. Officer Foley was not injured.

On the morning of April 26, 2021 Officer Foley was in a patrol vehicle at a traffic light on Division Street on the Ansonia border when a man, later identified as McCullough, ran up and started banging on his window.

Foley got out of the car, according to the report. McCullough said he was being chased.

​“During their brief encounter, the man (McCullough) continually fidgeted and touched his waistband,” according to the report.

A second man, identified as Lamont Jefferson, opened the back door of the patrol car and tried to get him. Foley ordered him out.

As Foley dealt with the chaotic situation, a black Infiniti slowly drove past the scene.

“McCullough followed the car on foot, lifted up his shirt and took out a .38 caliber revolver and fired several shots at the Infiniti,” the report states. 

The vehicle, which had nothing to do with the crime other than being unlucky, was hit twice. McCullough, in a state of paranoia, thought people in the car were out to get him. No one in the car was hurt.

Foley fired four shots at McCullough, hitting him three times in his leg. Officer Foley then placed his hands on McCullough’s thigh in order to stem the flow of blood until EMS arrived.

McCullough was taken to Bridgeport Hospital, arriving at 7:50 a.m., while detectives began collecting evidence at the scene, including McCullough’s gun.
McCullough was paranoid at the hospital, according to the report, complaining that there were people talking about him outside his room. He also stated people in a room next door were looking for him.

McCullough told police he was with his cousin on Division Street when he became afraid that cars were following him.

“McCullough’s statements were disorganized and often nonsensical,” the report states, relaying information from officers who conducted an interview.

Police also said a search of McCullough’s residence turned up fentanyl. The report notes that although a toxicology screen was ordered at the hospital to see if there were drugs in his system, the test was never performed.

McCullough has several gun charges pending from the incident.

The report also reviews Foley’s past as a Derby police officer. The inspector general notes that Officer Foley and another Derby police officer were the subject of an internal affairs investigation in 2012 for assaulting a prisoner. Foley was suspended for 20 days. The report is the first time that information was made public.

In 2018, Officer Foley was given a​“Courage of Connecticut” award from AFSCME Council 4 for his role in capturing a suspect who shot a man outside the Ansonia Mini-Mart on July 4, 2017. The suspect fled to Derby, where Foley spotted him and chased him for seven miles before the suspect crashed his car and was taken into custody. The suspect was sentenced to nine years in prison.

The report concludes that Officer Foley’s use of force was justified because McCullough presented a danger to the officer and the public at the time of the incident.

“Officer Foley observed McCullough using illegal deadly force against another person. A reasonable police officer, viewing the circumstances from Foley’s point of view, would have shared that belief,” the report states. ​“Foley then believed McCullough was about to use deadly force against him …”

​“An immediate response was necessary to stop the threat and deadly force was a reasonable response,” the report concludes.

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