New Haven Independent

The police fired at least one shot at the man but didn’t hit him, according to Capt. Peter Reichard.

The incident began at 5:39 p.m. p.m. and drew a crowd in the Dixwell neighborhood.

Police had received a call that “a gentleman was selling narcotics at the park at County and Henry” streets, Reichard said. The cops responded, saw the 26-year-old suspect — and the suspect fled.

The cops chased him through backyards.

At 702 Orchard St. (pictured) the man faced the officers and showed a gun. The officers repeatedly asked him to put the gun down; he didn’t, according to Reichard. “He moved his hand in the direction of the officers,” Reichard said.

At that point one of the officers — Lt. Anthony Duff, the respected head of the Dixwell district — fired back.

Duff said later Wednesday evening that he doesn’t know how many times he fired, but that it was more than once.

The man fled again. Another officer called to the area saw the man ditch his gun in some bushes. (It was later recovered.) The cops caught up with the man below a loading dock at the old M&B Catalog Services plant on Henry Street. They cornered him and apprehended him.

The cops called an ambulance to transport the man to the hospital. The man was injured. He didn’t show any signs of having been struck by a bullet, but rather had injuries related to his flight, according to both Reichard and Ortiz.

“The injuries were not consistent with gunshot wounds,” Reichard said.

Duff said that the recovered gun was loaded. He said drugs were also found on the suspect. He said the man was charged with weapons and drug offenses.

Police blocked off the scene for almost two hours, as some neighobrs complained about being unable to get into their homes. Reichard explained that a more extensive crime scene had to be laid out because an officer had fired his gun.

“It’s something big. It’s not like a normal gang shooting,” said an employee from Orchard Market, at the corner of Henry and Orchard. “They’re not usually here long.”

Lt. Duff said he and other cops know who the suspect is from prior encounters. He was a target of a joint program between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the NHPD several years ago to target gun crimes, Duff said. This past fall, the man stole a police car and then fled from the cops.

Mayor John DeStefano said the suspect has a felony record.

Wednesday night’s incident is another example of how the prison reentry problem “continues to plague us,” Destefano said. The state corrections department releases an estimated 25 prisoners from around the state onto New Haven streets each week, many with no money or job prospects or homes to go to. The city says a majority of shootings in the city involve released prisoners; the DeStefano administration is working on a prison reentry initiative aimed at helping released prisoners re-integrate into the community more constructively.

Paul Bass and Melissa Bailey helped report this story.

UPDATE: The city released more details Thursday morning about the incident. According to a release, the suspect’s injuries were minor; he was treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The loaded gun he allegedly tossed into the bushes was .45 caliber pistol. Full release here.