By David Fortier
An Inspector General’s report about the use of lethal force by a Bristol Police officer during an incident in January of 2023 establishes that the office was justified in his actions.
In a separate statement the Bristol Police Department thanked the Connecticut Office of Inspector General for its thorough and objective investigation and agreed with the office’s assessment.
The 38-page report released earlier this week on Aug. 14 provides a deep dive into the events leading up to, during and following the actions of Office Seth Petzing, who fired four shots at the suspect, Jimmie Shoemaker-Gonzalez, just after 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2023.
“The question of whether Officer Petzing’s use of deadly force was justified is not free from doubt,” the report by Inspector General Robert J. Devlin Jr. states. “Indeed, some would argue that shooting at a moving vehicle under the circumstances presented here is per se unjustified.
“Given the exigencies of this fast-moving dynamic event, however, I have concluded that the evidence is insufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooting was justified. Accordingly, the OIG will take no further action in this matter.”
On Jan. 12, Shoemaker-Gonzalez had been involved in several carjacking incidents while wielding and using a knife leading up to his confrontation with Bristol Police officers off Jerome Avenue in vicinity of Quaker Lane and Davis Drive.
The first attempted carjacking resulted in the suspect driving away in the stolen vehicle but colliding with a snowplow and the car being abandoned. The fourth attempt resulted in a second car being stolen and driven to Quaker Lane where police confronted the suspect who was in the stolen vehicle and, while attempting to flee, crashed the vehicle.
In the following moments, the suspect found his way to a police cruiser and entered it, backs up the vehicle and shifts into drive.
It is at this point that Petzing arrives and positions himself toward the front of the vehicle. The car is now advancing and police officers, including Petzing are yelling for the suspect to stop. Guns have been drawn. There is a moment where it appears Shoemaker-Gonzalez may or may not be driving at Petzing. Petzing shoots four rounds into the vehicle.
“Reasonableness is affected by circumstances that may be tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving,” Devlin writes. “In that moment when the stolen cruiser appeared to line up toward Office Petzing, things were certainly tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving. Under these circumstances, his split-second decision to first to prevent being run over could be considered reasonable.”
Petzing’s written account, which is in the report, states, “I believed the suspect was intentionally accelerating at me and I believed my life was in danger. The grill of the cruiser was coming right at me and the tires were turned in my direction. Based on the stare, the look on the suspect’s face, and the direction and speed of the vehicle, I believed I was going to be struck and killed. I then fired four rounds at the vehicle.”
Despite being struck by several rounds, Shoemaker-Gonzalez drove away from the scene. Two and a half miles away, he drove the vehicle into the entrance of Parma Restaurant on Stafford Avenue. He was treated at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford and then released to the custody of police. Blood tests indicated an elevated level of alcohol in the suspect’s system, as well as the presence of a cocaine metabolite, oxycodone and PCP.
State statute requires an investigation each time a police officer uses physical force or deadly force upon another person in the performance of official duties: “the Division of Criminal Justice shall cause an investigation to be made and the Inspector General shall have the responsibility of determining whether the use of force by the peace officer was justifiable.”
The exhaustive report includes investigations of the carjackings, dispatch recordings, police reports from all the officers involved the day of the incident, digital evidence, with links to body camera footage, photographs, medical records of the suspect along with an interview of the suspect, and the Petzing’s statement.
The Bristol Police statement follows:
“The Bristol Police Department would like to thank the Office of Inspector General for their efforts in conducting a thorough and objective investigation into the January 12, 2023 officer-involved shooting and agree with their assessment that Officer Petzing was justified when he discharged his firearm to protect himself from the imminent threat of serious physical injury and or death posed by a violent fleeing Felon in a stolen police car that day.”
For a copy of the report, click here.
All TBE readers, supporters and donors
The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
- Non-members will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.
Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.