Officer fired after fatally shooting man in mental health crisis — as others tried to de-escalate

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A white Connecticut police officer who fatally shot a Black man in a mental health crisis was fired Friday as public outrage grew over videos showing he began shooting 30 seconds after arriving at the scene, where other officers had spent several minutes de-escalating the situation.

The officer’s firing came a day after the Rev. Al Sharpton and noted civil rights lawyer Ben Crump spoke at the funeral of the man who was killed, Steven Jones.

Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said he fired Officer Joseph Magnano because of what he saw on police body camera footage of the Feb. 27 killing.

The videos, released earlier this month by the state’s inspector general, showed that Jones was was on a city street holding a large knife, but that the first group of police officers who arrived backpedaled to keep their distance from him, spoke to him kindly, and seemed to have gotten him to calm down.

“And then I saw one officer come in,” Arulampalam said at a news conference. He said that Magnano, a rookie officer still in a probationary period, “did not work with his teammates,” didn’t de-escalate, “and the end result of that was a tragic incident that took the life of Steven Jones.”

“Officer Magnano came in sirens blazing. He came in and — from the video — appears to have re-escalated the situation and made it worse.”

The local police union president, James Rutkauski, defended Magnano, saying his actions were justified and in line with department policies.

“Officers will now hesitate in split-second situations, not out of fear of the suspect, but out of fear of political second-guessing afterward,” he said in a statement. “Those lost seconds will slow responses and leave families more exposed as criminals sense the weakness.”

Contact information for Magnano could not immediately be found.

A Hartford police spokesman referred questions to Chief James Rovella, who did not immediately return a phone message or email Friday.

The state inspector general’s office is investigating the shooting and will determine whether to file criminal charges against Magnano. Earlier this month, the office released the body camera footage from the four officers who responded to the scene.

Jones’ sister, Audrey Jones, had called 911 seeking help for her brother because he was having a mental health crisis, reporting that he had a knife and had cut himself.

The body camera footage shows Steven Jones on a city street as three officers keep telling him for several minutes to drop the knife he is holding. The officers also tell him they’re there to help.

“Steve, you’re OK. We’re going to make sure you’re OK,” Officer James Prignano tells him. “Just drop the knife. We’re going to go talk to somebody, OK?”

Jones can’t be heard saying anything in the videos.

About 12 minutes after the 911 call, Magnano arrives, draws his pistol and shouts at Jones to drop the knife, telling him,“You’re going to get shot,” the video shows. A woman is heard screaming, “Don’t shoot him!”

The videos show Prignano motioning at Magnano, appearing to tell him to back away. As Jones slowly walks toward Magnano, the officer gives a final warning before shooting at Jones nine times, about 30 seconds after he got out of his cruiser, video shows.

Jones died at a hospital four days later, authorities said.

At Jones’ funeral, Sharpton delivered the eulogy. Crump, a lawyer for Jones’ family who has represented relatives of Black people killed in high-profile police shootings, said Jones “needed a helping hand from the Hartford Police Department, but instead he got nine bullet holes in his body.”

“That is a shame before God. And the status of your mental health and the color of your skin should not equal the death sentence,” Crump said.

In a statement, Sharpton on Friday called the firing “a necessary first step,” but said “Jones’ family and the people of Hartford deserve full justice.” He and Crump called for reforms aimed at improving Hartford police’s response to calls involving mental health.

Jones’ shooting happened just days after a different Hartford officer fatally shot another man in crisis.

On Feb. 19, Everard Walker was fatally shot by Hartford police in a different neighborhood. A relative had called the 211 health and human services help line. Two mental health professionals responding to Walker’s apartment asked police to accompany them to the call, Inspector General Eliot Prescott said in a preliminary report.

Officer Alexander Clifford fired several shots at Walker, as Walker raised a knife at another officer who appeared to be falling backward, said Prescott, who also is investigating that shooting.