Paul Bass Photo
Diaz and Werner.
A shot went off in the dark of the Dwight night. Four cops heard it — and began looking for the shooter.
The two pairs of officers—Derek Werner and David Diaz, and Christopher Cameron and Carlos Conceicao — were patrolling the Dwight-Kensington area on foot around 8:30 Tuesday night when they heard the shot. Werner and Diaz radioed for help; more cops joined the search.
Conceicao (pictured) and Cameron checked out Day Street near Chapel. They saw a man whom Conceicao knew from previous arrests emerge from the back of a building. They followed the man. Conceicao stood in his path.
Conceicao later recalled the ensuing dialogue:
“Hassan did you hear that gunshot?”
“No Carlos.”
“What are you doing coming from back there?”
“Oh, nothing.”
The man kept walking fast, out of breath. He declined to stop, according to Conceicao.
“Hassan, come here,” Conceicao called.
He didn’t stop. Instead, “he picked up his sweat pants. They were really low. He started running,” left hand on his sweats, right inside his coat.
Conceicao chased him. Other officers converged on the area. Conceicao said he saw the man fling a “dark object.”
Then the man ran smack into Werner and Diaz — “which isn’t a good idea,” said top Dwight cop Sgt. Stephan Torquati, noting that Werner is a Marine and Diaz a “good athlete.”
The officers made the arrest and recovered the “dark object,” which turned out to be a loaded Ruger LC9 9mm semi-automatic handgun with a laser attachment. (They also reported finding five bags of crack and money on the suspect.)
The incident demonstrated “the importance of being on their beat, even in crummy weather,” Torquati remarked.
The arrestee, who is 24, is on probation for a 2012 gun arrest, according to Torquati. The suspect, who complained of being out of breath was taken upon request to Yale-New Haven Hospital. He was subsequently released. Police charged him with carrying a pistol without a permit, criminal possession of a firearm, a few narcotics charges and trespassing. No one was reported hit by the gunshot.
As always, D4 rocks! Strong, talented officers who can walk, talk, fight if they have to, and who really care!! Keep up the great work! Stay alert! Stay safe!