Inspector General investigating CT officer who fired gun during chase then tried to say it was Taser
The incident began unfolding on Jan. 30 shortly after 8:20 p.m. when Officer Brandon Thomas of the Windsor Police Department spotted a 'suspicious vehicle' that was unoccupied in the parking lot of the Tiger Mart gas station at 160 Windsor Ave., according to the Office of the Inspector General. The 2008 Jeep Liberty Sport had a license plate that came back to another vehicle.
According to Inspector General Robert Devlin, Jr., Thomas saw two people leave the convenience mart and walk toward the Liberty. As they did, he approached the individuals and asked about the misused license plate.
'This plate don't match, man,' Thomas says in body camera footage released from the incident.
'Hold on, hold on,' Thomas says. 'Where you going? Hold on, hold on.'
One of the individuals, later identified as 21-year-old Geovanni Nunez, immediately took off running, according to Devlin.
Thomas radioed in that an individual took off from him on foot as he chased him across Windsor Avenue and into the entrance of Keney Park.
During the chase, Thomas told Nunez to stop running 'or I'm gonna (expletive) tase you,' the footage shows. He can then be seen aiming his firearm toward Nunez before firing a single gunshot. Nunez was not struck by gunfire, Devlin said.
Thomas slows down moments after the shot was fired, at which point he can be heard saying, 'Oh, (expletive), I did not mean to do that,' the footage shows.
The first of two body camera clips Devlin released ends with Thomas taking his Taser out and deploying it.
According to Devlin, Thomas fell into a stream while apprehending Nunez and his body camera was doused in water. Investigators were still able to recover the footage.
After Nunez was apprehended, he could be heard telling Thomas and another officer that he was shot at.
'Bro, you shot at me…,' Nunez says, the footage shows.
The other officer then tells Nunez, 'No, he didn't shoot a gun at you.'
Thomas can then be heard saying 'right here, this,' while holding up his Taser.
'He shot a gun at me,' Nunez then maintains.
'No, I didn't,' Thomas can be heard saying.
'I heard a gun,' Nunez says, the footage shows.
'That wasn't me, bro,' Thomas replies, according to the footage.
'I know the difference between a gun and a Taser,' Nunez says before the clip ends.
According to Devlin, Nunez was arrested on charges of interfering with police and possession of a controlled substance. A spokesperson for the Windsor Police Department said Nunez was released on a non-surety bond and turned over the Meriden Police Department, who held a warrant for his arrest on one count of first-degree assault.
The shooting is being investigated by Devlin's office with the assistance of the Windsor Police Department.
According to Windsor police, Thomas is on 'limited duty status' pending the outcome of the investigation.
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USA Today
14 hours ago
- USA Today
He lived an immigrant's nightmare. One problem: He's a citizen, got his arrest on video
Caught on video: Federal ICE officials detained US citizen, others for hours after stopping landscaping crew, pulling them from van and tasing one. PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida ‒ Kenny Laynez's cellphone camera captured every undocumented immigrant's nightmare on video when he was arrested. One problem: He is a U.S. citizen. The video, shot May 2, showed Florida Highway Patrol officers and Border Patrol agents stopping the 18-year-old landscaper and his three coworkers ‒ one of them his mother ‒ as they drove past luxury buildings to a job. The camera captured officers dragging his coworkers out of their van by their necks and twisting Laynez's arms and pushing him face down to the pavement. The video also recorded an officer shooting one of Laynez's coworkers with a Taser, saying he had resisted arrest. 'I have rights. I was born and raised here," Laynez told the officers, according to a copy of the video shared by the Guatemalan-Maya Center of Lake Worth Beach. "You don't have any rights here. You are a 'Migo,' brother,' the officer said, referring to his ethnicity. He hurried the 18-year-old into a van. Laynez was released from a Riviera Beach federal facility six hours later, with the video still on his cellphone. His coworkers, including the one who was tased, were undocumented and weren't as fortunate. They were transferred to the Krome Detention Center in Miami. Laynez said they are free on bail but fear they will be arrested if they show up in court. Deportations accelerate: Shock and anger: Florida immigrant communities react to 'Operation Tidal Wave' The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network, recently interviewed Laynez and made multiple attempts to contact FHP, ICE and Border Patrol for comment about the incident and the body-camera footage, as well as multiple requests for copies of the arrest reports. None of them responded. Laynez said he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction without violence simply to get the incident over with. He entered a pretrial diversion program on June 4. The state will drop the charges July 30 if he completes the program by then. "They treated us like dogs they picked up in the street," Layzez said. "They are just pulling over people and kidnapping people who are hard-working." "We are not criminals. We were just heading to work." Trump at 'Alligator Alcatraz': Facts on Florida Everglades immigration detention center ICE arrests spread fear among immigrants Videos like Laynez's showing federal agents arresting day laborers have left immigrant families across Palm Beach County and the rest of the country in fear. Even families in which some members are documented have laid low, sometimes not going to school or church. West Palm Beach attorney Jack Scarola has reviewed Laynez's footage and has talked with him about the incident. He said the footage shows how FHP and Border Patrol agents are under "extreme pressure" to meet daily arrest and deportation quotas and that the response has led to a "reckless disregard" of the rights of both undocumented and legal immigrants and even the rights of U.S. citizens. 'All of us should be not only offended, but outraged by that misconduct,' Scarola said. 'And if we fail to appropriately respond to that outrageous disregard of the civil rights of others, all of our civil rights are in serious jeopardy.' Stopped while heading to work Kenny Laynez was born in 2005 at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach to a Guatemalan single mother who is in the U.S. legally but is not a citizen. He attended Palm Beach Lakes High School and got a job at the landscaping company where his mother drove crews to work sites. Neither Laynez nor his mother works for the company any longer. 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Laynez said they were not and asked what that had to do with the license. A van pulled up and more armed agents swarmed the truck. A female officer approached his window and ordered them in Spanish to shut off their phones. Laynez said that at that moment, he started recording with his phone instead: "I assumed something was going to happen.' The video of the raid What he captured on video begins with a question. "Who in here is illegal?' The officer asked in Spanish. "Whoever takes longer to answer will get more charges and spend more time in jail.' Esdras, who is seen clenching a towel in his hands, raised his hand. The male agent ordered them to open the door. Laynez grabbed onto the handle. 'Wait, hold up,' Laynez said. 'You don't have the right to do that.' 'I don't have a right?' the officer said with a laugh. He reached inside the car and popped the door open. The video shows an agent grabbing Marroquin by the hair and placing his neck in the crook of his arm. Another agent pulled Esdras, called Kevin by his coworkers, by the leg and tightened his hands around his neck. The video then shows Laynez stepping out of the car, but an officer who had ordered him to get on the ground pushes him from behind, twisting his arms and kneeling him to the pavement. Esdras stood rigidly as three officers tried to force him to the ground. They told him in English to lie down, while Laynez urged him in Spanish not to resist. 'Aye! What are you doing? That is not how you arrest people,' Laynez said. The video shows an officer pulling out a yellow Taser and firing twice into Esdras' stomach. Laynez saw his body and legs spasm before he slammed onto the pavement, crying. An agent pressed his knee on Laynez's back and forced him face down to the pavement. An officer later ordered Laynez to stand up, but he said he was too scared to move. 'I am not going to get up because you are going to do to me whatever you were doing to Esdras,' Laynez said. 'That is not how you arrest people." 'Be quiet,' an officer said, cutting him off and picking him up. 'I've got the right to talk,' Laynez said. 'I was born and raised here.' 'You have no rights here. You are a 'Migo,' brother," the officer said in a comment Laynez said sounded like racial profiling. Laynez's mother can be heard crying in the background. Video records officers laughing at immigration arrest Laynez's phone continued recording on the sidewalk and captured a conversation between the agents over the next four minutes. 'Once she got the proper spread on him, he was done,' the officer said. "You're funny, bro.' 'It was funny,' an agent said, laughing. 'It was,' another chimed in with laughter. Another agent said more people are resisting their immigration arrests. "They are starting to resist now," an agent said. "We're going to end up shooting someone." On the video, an agent recounted how Laynez said they didn't have the right to come in the door and says: 'I already told you to come out. If you don't come out, I'll pull you out.' 'God damn. Wow,' the officer cheered. 'Nice!' 'Just remember you can smell too with a $30,000 bonus,' another officer chimes in. It was not immediately clear to what bonus the officer referred. On the tape, an officer is heard saying that Laynez's coworker was resisting arrest, so he should be charged. 'He was being a d*** right now. That is why we tased,' an agent said. The phone recording stopped shortly after that exchange, its memory out of storage. The agents confirmed Laynez's mother had legal status and issued her a ticket for driving with a suspended license. Laynez said she told them he was a U.S. citizen and showed them a picture of his Social Security card. They still took Laynez into custody. 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Laynez said she told him she needed to see if he had filmed videos of the arrest. Laynez said he unlocked his phone, closed all his apps and locked it again. He said he declined to open it and set it down on the table. He said she told him they would wait in that room until he opened it. She asked again for his date of birth. Laynez said he trembled. That was his password. Laynez said the officer threatened to press charges if he didn't unlock his phone, but then a person who appeared to be a supervisor interrupted them. Laynez said the supervisor said Laynez wasn't supposed to be in that room because he is a U.S. citizen. The supervisor took Laynez's fingerprints and said it was only to leave a record that he had been in the facility. Then he told Laynez he couldn't leave without signing some paperwork and that he would have to show up in court. "What did I do?' Laynez said he asked while signing. "I didn't do anything. Why do I have to present myself in court?' The arrest report said Laynez was being charged with nonviolent police obstruction. In a copy of the report that Laynez provided to The Palm Beach Post, officers wrote that Esdras had resisted his arrest. Laynez is not mentioned. After six hours, Laynez said he walked out the door of the Riviera Beach building and ordered an Uber home. He had almost 100 missed calls from his mother. Laynez said the footage of the arrests haunts him, but he doesn't regret filming. "I would basically have nothing, no evidence,' Laynez said. 'And no one would believe what happened or how they escalated the situation. "There might be even more happening that is not being recorded."
CNN
2 days ago
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New sentencing dates set for 5 former Memphis, Tennessee, officers in Tyre Nichols case
Memphis, Tennessee (AP) — A judge on Thursday scheduled sentencings in December for five former Memphis police officers convicted of federal charges in the 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols, after the sentencings were delayed when the previous judge in the case surprisingly recused himself. During a hearing, U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman said the five officers would be sentenced the week of December 15. However, she noted those dates could change or be canceled depending on how she rules on several sealed motions, including one for a new trial for three of the men. Lipman said she could rule on the pending motions by mid-September. U.S. District Judge Mark Norris issued a terse order on June 13 saying he was recusing himself, just days before he was supposed to sentence the officers. He offered no further explanation, and the reason for his recusal has not been made public. Lipman was added to the case the same day. Norris later recused himself from a $550 million lawsuit filed by Nichols' mother against the city of Memphis, the police chief and the officers. Lipman also took over that case. Norris had overseen the case since federal indictments were issued in September 2023. He accepted guilty pleas from two of the officers and presided over the trial for the others in October. A flurry of motions were filed under seal after the recusal, including a request by defense attorneys seeking a new trial. It was not clear if any of those filings asked for Norris to step away from the case. It is unusual for a judge to recuse themself from a case between the trial and sentencing. The city of Memphis and its police chief, and the Daily Memphian news outlet, have filed motions to unseal the documents. On January 7, 2023, the officers yanked Nichols from his car, then pepper-sprayed and hit the 29-year-old Black man with a Taser. Nichols fled, and when the five officers, who also are Black, caught up with him, they punched, kicked and hit him with a police baton. Nichols called out for his mother during the beating, which took place just steps from his home. Nichols died January 10, 2023. Footage of the beating captured by a police pole camera also showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled with his injuries — video that prompted intense scrutiny of police in Memphis. The beating also sparked nationwide protests and prompted renewed calls for police reform. The five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith — were fired from the police force and indicted in state and federal court. Bean, Haley and Smith were found guilty in federal court in October of obstruction of justice through witness tampering related to an attempt to cover up the beating. The officers failed to say that they or their colleagues punched and kicked Nichols and broke Memphis Police Department rules when they did not include complete and accurate statements about what type of force they used. Bean and Smith were acquitted of more serious civil rights charges by the federal jury. Haley was found guilty of violating Nichols' civil rights by causing bodily injury and showing deliberate indifference to medical needs. He was also convicted of conspiracy to tamper with witnesses. Bean, Haley and Smith were acquitted in May of all state charges, including second-degree murder. Martin and Mills pleaded guilty in federal court last year to violating Nichols' civil rights by causing death and conspiracy to witness tamper. They did not stand trial in federal court with their former colleagues. Martin and Mills also avoided the trial in state court after reaching agreements to plead guilty there. Both Martin and Mills testified in the federal trial, and Mills also took the stand in the state trial. The officers were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit that was disbanded weeks after Nichols died. The team targeted illegal drugs and guns and violent offenders, and sometimes used force against unarmed people. In December, the U.S. Justice Department said a 17-month investigation showed the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people. The investigation also found that the police department conducts unlawful stops, searches, and arrests. In May, the Trump administration announced it was retracting the findings of Justice Department civil rights investigations of police departments, including Memphis, that were issued under the Biden administration. The city has created a task force to address police department reforms. The task force has not announced any recommendations.
CNN
2 days ago
- CNN
New sentencing dates set for 5 former Memphis, Tennessee, officers in Tyre Nichols case
Memphis, Tennessee (AP) — A judge on Thursday scheduled sentencings in December for five former Memphis police officers convicted of federal charges in the 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols, after the sentencings were delayed when the previous judge in the case surprisingly recused himself. During a hearing, U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman said the five officers would be sentenced the week of December 15. However, she noted those dates could change or be canceled depending on how she rules on several sealed motions, including one for a new trial for three of the men. Lipman said she could rule on the pending motions by mid-September. U.S. District Judge Mark Norris issued a terse order on June 13 saying he was recusing himself, just days before he was supposed to sentence the officers. He offered no further explanation, and the reason for his recusal has not been made public. Lipman was added to the case the same day. Norris later recused himself from a $550 million lawsuit filed by Nichols' mother against the city of Memphis, the police chief and the officers. Lipman also took over that case. Norris had overseen the case since federal indictments were issued in September 2023. He accepted guilty pleas from two of the officers and presided over the trial for the others in October. A flurry of motions were filed under seal after the recusal, including a request by defense attorneys seeking a new trial. It was not clear if any of those filings asked for Norris to step away from the case. It is unusual for a judge to recuse themself from a case between the trial and sentencing. The city of Memphis and its police chief, and the Daily Memphian news outlet, have filed motions to unseal the documents. On January 7, 2023, the officers yanked Nichols from his car, then pepper-sprayed and hit the 29-year-old Black man with a Taser. Nichols fled, and when the five officers, who also are Black, caught up with him, they punched, kicked and hit him with a police baton. Nichols called out for his mother during the beating, which took place just steps from his home. Nichols died January 10, 2023. Footage of the beating captured by a police pole camera also showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled with his injuries — video that prompted intense scrutiny of police in Memphis. The beating also sparked nationwide protests and prompted renewed calls for police reform. The five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith — were fired from the police force and indicted in state and federal court. Bean, Haley and Smith were found guilty in federal court in October of obstruction of justice through witness tampering related to an attempt to cover up the beating. The officers failed to say that they or their colleagues punched and kicked Nichols and broke Memphis Police Department rules when they did not include complete and accurate statements about what type of force they used. Bean and Smith were acquitted of more serious civil rights charges by the federal jury. Haley was found guilty of violating Nichols' civil rights by causing bodily injury and showing deliberate indifference to medical needs. He was also convicted of conspiracy to tamper with witnesses. Bean, Haley and Smith were acquitted in May of all state charges, including second-degree murder. Martin and Mills pleaded guilty in federal court last year to violating Nichols' civil rights by causing death and conspiracy to witness tamper. They did not stand trial in federal court with their former colleagues. Martin and Mills also avoided the trial in state court after reaching agreements to plead guilty there. Both Martin and Mills testified in the federal trial, and Mills also took the stand in the state trial. The officers were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit that was disbanded weeks after Nichols died. The team targeted illegal drugs and guns and violent offenders, and sometimes used force against unarmed people. In December, the U.S. Justice Department said a 17-month investigation showed the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people. The investigation also found that the police department conducts unlawful stops, searches, and arrests. In May, the Trump administration announced it was retracting the findings of Justice Department civil rights investigations of police departments, including Memphis, that were issued under the Biden administration. The city has created a task force to address police department reforms. The task force has not announced any recommendations.
