Investigators had a line on an illegal gun trafficker. They arranged to meet him behind Butta J’s Cafe. The encounter went awry: A suspect allegedly tried to run over two cops, who then fired their weapons; a PT Cruiser smashed into a pole; and a foot chase led to the Farmington Canal Trail.
The incident unfolded around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday at Ashmun and Munson streets along the border of the Dixwell and Newhallville neighborhoods.
Here’s what happened, pieced together from interviews with Lt. John Velleca, head of New Haven’s Major Crimes Unit, and Lt. Luiz Casanova, the night patrol shift commander:
Members of a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Urban Violence Task Force — comprised of federal agents and two New Haven cops, Charles Tyson and John Healy — were working on an investigation into illegal gun trafficking in New Haven. An informant told them about a man who was peddling guns. Task force members, working undercover, contacted the suspects. They arranged to meet at Ashmun and Munson.
The suspect and an associate showed up in a PT Cruiser. The agents decided not to actually try to make a buy. Instead they prepared a so-called “rip” — having patrol officers on hand to bust the suspects while in possession of contraband.
So a group of officers showed up, including uniformed New Haven cops, and approached the two men seated in the front of the PT Cruiser.
At that point, police said, the driver, who’s 21 years old, hit the gas and tried to flee — and drove right at two officers. The officers saw a gun in the hand of the passenger, who’s 19. They then fired at the car in self-defense, police said.
The driver smashed the PT Cruiser into a telephone pole. The driver and passenger bailed. They ran toward the Farmington Canal Trail a block away. The cops ran after them and caught up with the suspects. They made arrests without incident. They also recovered a .380 handgun nearby.
No one was injured.
The police department’s Major Crimes Unit will conduct an internal investigation into the firing of guns by the two officers. That’s routine in these situations; there was no initial indication Tuesday night of rules being broken.
“It was an outstanding job by New Haven police officers. They clearly demonstrated their passion for public safety. The officers were heroic,” Lt. Casanova said. (The Independent is for now withholding the names of the officers who fired their guns, at least until more can be known about the incident. They are not the same officers who have been assigned to the ATF task force.)
ATF will be in charge of the investigation into the alleged gun trafficking.
Good work nhpd