Bodycam: Conn. Police Officer Stops Suspect who Pulls Gun on Another Officer During Struggle

By Justin Muszynski

Source Hartford Courant

An investigation conducted by the Connecticut Office of Inspector General found that a Hartford police officer was justified when she opened fire on a man who was armed with a handgun and struggling with another officer after refusing to exit a vehicle during an incident last November.

The findings of the investigation, released Thursday by Inspector General Eliot Prescott, concluded that Officer Gabrielle Arruda acted objectively reasonable when she fired two rounds at Alexander Garay — who was 48 years old and survived the shooting — on Nov. 30, 2024.

Prescott said he found that Arruda “honestly and sincerely” believed she faced the threat of death as Garay brandished a firearm inside a Chevrolet Equinox while he struggled with Officer Elvis Martinez.

“She saw the firearm inside the vehicle and that Garay was struggling with Officer Martinez in an attempt to free his arm, presumably so that he could fire on her,” Prescott wrote in the report.

Prescott noted that his investigation — which included reviewing the body camera footage from the incident and combing through statements given by both officers — concluded that a “reasonable officer” in Arruda’s shoes would have shared the same belief that her life was endangered.

“Any reasonable officer, if faced with an armed individual acting erratically, failing to comply with demands to drop a firearm, engaging in a physical struggle with a fellow officer, would conclude that the individual is in the midst of an attempt to inflict deadly physical force,” Prescott wrote.

According to the report, Arruda and Martinez responded to the area of 738 Maple Ave. around 8:15 p.m. on the report of two people having an argument, which led to one of them taking out a firearm. When they arrived, police learned from a witness that an armed man had allegedly gotten into a black SUV.

Police approached the vehicle and the driver took off, the report said. Officers did not pursue the driver. He was seen not far away losing control of the SUV and crashing into a parked vehicle near the corner of Broad and West Preston Streets, the report said.

Arruda and Martinez approached the vehicle and ordered the driver to show his hands, the report said. Noting that the windows were heavily tinted, Prescott said Arruda smashed the front driver side window after the suspect, who was later identified as Garay, allegedly did not show his hands, according to the report.

As Garay allegedly seemed to be reaching for something near his waist, Arruda deployed her Taser two times, but it was not effective in getting him to comply, as he moved to the backseat shortly thereafter, the report said. Garay then allegedly struggled with Martinez through a passenger window, at which point Arruda smashed a rear driver side window to get a better idea of what was happening, according to the report. Garay could be heard in the body camera footage shouting “leave me alone” a number of times.

As Garay continued to struggle with Martinez and allegedly appeared to be reaching for a handgun, Arruda again tried to Taser him and was not successful, the report said. Garay could then be seen in the footage holding a handgun in his left hand, the body camera showed.

The officers yelled for Garay to drop the gun before Arruda warned Martinez to “watch out,” the footage showed. She then fired two rounds into the chest and leg of Garay.

Garay was taken to Hartford Hospital in critical condition, the report said. He was allegedly found with a small baggie of cocaine, and a toxicology report showed that he had phencyclidine (PCP), benzodiazepine and cannabis in his system, according to the report.

Garay was released from the hospital on Dec. 5, 2024, and turned over to the Department of Correction. Court records show he has been held on a $750,000 bond since his release from the hospital. Police arrested him in connection with the incident on charges of criminal possession of a firearm, interfering with police, possession of a controlled substance and multiple motor vehicle-related offenses.

Inside the vehicle, investigators allegedly found folding knives and bags containing PCP, the report said. They also allegedly found the Taurus Arms G2c 9mm pistol that Garay had, according to the report.

Prescott noted in the report that Arruda’s written statement was “not entirely consistent” with what the body cameras showed. He said Arruda wrote that Garay at one point moved the gun from his left hand to his right hand, though the footage showed this never happened.

The video showed that Garay was holding a pipe or a lighter in his right hand, which Prescott said could have caused confusion during what he described as “chaotic circumstances.” Prescott also said the video did not capture any footage showing that Garay pointed the gun at Arruda, despite her noting in her statement that she believed the firearm was pointed at her, the report said.

According to the report, Prescott said the body camera “may not have captured that precise moment.” Regardless, he wrote, “I do not find these potential discrepancies to undermine my conclusion in this case.”

“There is no factual dispute that Garay had a firearm in his vehicle and, most importantly, that weapon was in one of his hands just before Arruda discharged her firearm at Garay,” Prescott wrote. “The necessity to use deadly physical force was not materially diminished because the firearm was in Garay’s left hand as opposed to his right hand.

“Accordingly, I find that her actions were legally justified,” Prescott wrote.

“We would like to thank the Inspector General’s Office for their fair and thorough investigation and concur with their findings,” Lt. Aaron Boisvert of the Hartford Police Department said Thursday in an email correspondence.

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