File Photo
A comprehensive state police report has cleared a Branford police officer of wrongdoing in the death last March of a man he Tasered.
The report, the result of a five-month investigation, was based in large measure on footage from a body cam worn by the officer, who Tasered a man in a psychotic state after he moved erratically on Burban Drive. The report concluded that Officer John Abley acted within the law in deploying his Taser gun seven times.
The man, David Werblow, 41, died a “sudden death following physical altercation, including electric shock and restraint during a psychotic episode due to schizophrenia,” state Chief Medical Examiner Dr. James Gill previously concluded, in a report issued two months ago. Werblow was living in a group home for adults with mental health issues at 134 Burban Drive. He was Tasered after he refused to get out of car parked in a nearby driveway.
The report found that Abley acted legally regarding the use of the Taser. “Alone and faced with a large and psychotic individual who had a history of resisting police, and who had been tasered in the past without incident, Abley appropriately used force to prevent Werblow from endangering himself and others.”
No further action should be taken regarding the use of force by the Branford police, Waterbury State’s Attorney Maureen Platt concluded in the new 26-page report on the events that unfolded during the early evening hours of March 15 on Burban Drive. The Eagle obtained the report yesterday.
The investigation was conducted by Platt, the state’s major crime squad and the chief medical examiner’s office. Platt wrote that the inquiry was “greatly aided by the presence of body cameras worn by the members of the Branford Police Department.”
Body cams have been a fact of life for Branford cops since 2012, when Police Chief Kevin Halloran ordered them for all 51 police officers and himself. A pilot camera program began in 2008 so this department has a long history of using and liking body cams. Click here to read about the department’s history with body cams.
“It should also be noted that the presence of the body camera footage has provided extremely valuable information regarding this matter and has confirmed the reports of the officers and the witnesses,” Platt wrote. She praised Branford Detective Matthew Greenstein for his “exhaustive and professional investigation of this matter.”
Setting the Scene on Burban Drive
On the night of the incident, it was cool outside, with clear skies and patches of snow still on the ground. The sun had set. The body cams worn by police had both an audio and video capacity, but because the light was dim outside, the video footage turned out to be “dark and unclear.” However, the audio portion of the body cam recorded the incident in its entirety, minute by minute. It gave state police sufficient information to draw a detailed timeline.
“David Werblow tragically died on March 15, 2015, after an incident with Branford police officers,” the report states. “Officer John Abley had warned Werblow to stop 40 times before he deployed his Taser for the first time,” the report states.” Abley knew of Werblow’s mental health problems because the Branford police had investigated eight prior calls from 2013 to 2015, when Werblow, who was 6 feet 2 inches and weighed 278 pounds lived in the group home. (Click here to read our earlier story.)
Eight Separate Police Calls
Werblow’s recurring psychotic problems while at the group home may well have prevented him from handling the police situations he encountered over the months. There is little doubt he was delusional, the report says. But he was not removed from the home and, the report states, he would often avoid taking his medications.
One of the 2013 events took place when Werblow had a schizophrenic episode at the Big Y supermarket, where he ended up running from officers. They ultimately used their Tasers in that incident.
Werblow, the report states, also had a history of walking away from the group home on Burban Drive, weaving into the roadway, where on one occasion he “almost got struck by a vehicle. For unknown reasons Werblow attempted to stop a vehicle that was driving by,” the report states.
Werblow also had a history “of not taking his medication and had numerous admissions to Yale-New Haven Hospital for psychiatric treatment.”
Back on another night in April 2013, Werblow jumped out at a van and ran into the street “with no regard for traffic. Upon the arrival of the officers, Werblow was signaling to drivers to stop their vehicles. It appeared Werblow was attempting to gain entry into the vehicles.” That night officers chased him, put him in handcuffs, and took him back to the hospital again.
More than a year later, on Aug. 19, 2014, police responded to Town Fair Tire, where Werblow had become “violent” and his caretaker was unable to control him. When the officers arrived at the group home, the caretakers told police “Werblow snuck out of the group home and walked to the Town Fair Tire where he went in and out of the store several times and went behind the counter.” Again Werblow was taken to the hospital.
On March 6, 2015, nine days before the Taser event, police found themselves on Alps Road off Burban Drive, where Werblow was walking in the middle of the road. “The officers tried speaking with Werblow but he wouldn’t listen to them. Werblow had to be physically restrained and placed in handcuffs.” He was taken to the hospital again.
The Fateful 8th Encounter
Then, on March 15, nine days after the prior incident, Werblow himself called 911 although originally it was thought his caretaker made the call. He asked to be transported to a hospital by a Guilford ambulance, the town where he once lived with his parents.
A review of the 911 calls “reveals that Mr. Werblow was clearly in a delusional state and can be heard asking the dispatchers, ‘Can you read me, George W. Bush?” Officer Albey was dispatched to the Burban Drive house (top photo). He knew well Werblow’s history with the police and his penchant for fleeing and trying to get into cars.
When Abley walked into the group home, he activated his body cam, which remained on throughout the events that unfolded thereafter.
A 911 Call On March 15, 2015
According to the report, Abley first met with a staff member outside the home who briefed him about Werblow’s condition. Abley observed Werblow go inside the house and saw a staff member follow him inside. Abley advised one of the staff members “to stand at the front door to block Werblow if he decided to run since Abley knew that Werblow had a history of such behavior.
“Abley then went to the side door to try to make eye contact with Werblow. At this point, although it was a cold winter evening Werblow exited through the front door of the residence barefooted and wearing only a tee shirt and pants. As Abley had feared, Werblow began walking away from him and into the middle of the street.”
Following his usual pattern, Werblow first tried to get into Abley’s police car, but Abley had locked it. So Werblow began walking quickly down the block, toward Jefferson Road.
Soon Werblow approached a car in the middle of the road while Abley successfully signaled the driver with his flashlight. A staff member who followed them as the officer continuously told Werblow to “Stop,” and “get on the ground.” The officer can be heard on the body cam pleading with Werblow to stop and listen to the officer. Werblow can be heard talking irrationally and then says, “I’m not going to the ground.”
Marcia Chambers Photo
Next Werblow tried to stop a truck passing by, reaching for the passenger side door to get in. The driver swerved to avoid hitting Werblow. Finally Werblow, now a long block away from the group home, arrived at 92 Burban Drive, (see photo above) a two-family house with one driveway on Burban Drive and another driveway located at the intersection of Jefferson Road. He saw a car parked there.
He climbed into the driver’s seat of the parked car. It was at this point that Abley discharged his Taser for the first time. The report of the body cam footage showed Abley had told Werblow to “Stop” or “Get Down” at least 40 times before he first deployed his Taser.
Abley was concerned that he would not be able to chase Werblow should he find a key to start the car because his patrol car was parked at the group home, off Alps Road. As it later turned out a car key was found in the console of the car during a subsequent search by the state police. Werblow would have had access to it.
Abley said Werblow was unaffected by the Taser, as in past Taser encounters with him, the report states.
Werblow refused to “exit the vehicle.” About this time Officer Dominick Eula arrived to assist Abley. Eula’s body cam also recorded the events. Eula was also aware of Werblow’s “history of mental illness physical size and prior incidents involving the Branford police,” the report says. Eula put his police car behind the parked car to make it more difficult for Werblow to drive off.
At this juncture Abley tasered Werblow again, in all about three times, without impact, both officers said. Then Werblow began to throw items out of car at both officers. Eula tried to get him out of the car, pulling his arm, but he could not move him. By this time, Werblow had been Tasered six times.
When a dispatcher got through, asking what was going on, Abley said: “He’s fighting with us, that’s what’s going on.” According to the body cam footage, Abley’s statement took place about 41 seconds after the final Taser deployment. In all Werblow was Tasered seven times.
An ambulance was called since a Taser had been deployed. Both officers reported that at this point Werblow “did not appear to be in any distress. The officers can be heard on body cam recordings commenting on successfully ending the situation before any harm occurred to anyone.”
Abley then told the dispatcher that Werblow “had been taken into custody without injury.” Abley is also heard saying this incident was “very much like the other incidents involving Werblow.”
About four minutes later, after Werblow had been handcuffed, Branford Lt. Patrick O’Malley observed that Werblow was in “medical distress.” Eula checked and found Werblow did not have a pulse. He began CPR. An ambulance arrived and he was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
But whether the Taser caused his death remains an open question, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office and because other factors were involved, Platt wrote. “The Division of Criminal Justice will take no further action with respect to use of force in this case.”
It is still not clear why, given eight separate encounters with the Branford police over a two-year period, several of which required the use of a Taser, Werblow remained in residence in a group home on Burban Drive. The home is owned by Continuum of Care, a New Haven-based non-profit. The organization purchased the residence after receiving a state grant from the Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services.
Police Chief Kevin Halloran, who had access to little information over the five months of the state police and state’s attorney’s investigation, said he was relieved to learn of the outcome of the inquiry.
“This was a tragedy,” he said of Werblow’s death. Halloran said he was also pleased to learn that the body cams worn by his officers that night provided vital information about the victim and the officers and the actions each took that night.
There are deeper questions yet to be answered about putting the police in situations with community based mentally ill patients and vice-versa and at what point other agencies might be called in to handle psychotic situations potentially harmful to the public. One issue is whether a person in a psychotic state is able to rationally respond to clear police directives.
###
What occurred is a tragedy. However, it is most definetly not officer Abely's fault. The Branford officers did all they could to diffuse the situation. Officer Abely is a wonderful and compassionate individual. There is no doubt in my mind that officer Abely feels horrible about what happened. I have personally witnessed him reach into his own pocket and give his own money to a troubled individual. Police officers continually get a bad rap in today's society. Why don't we look at the real problem here- politicians who refuse to back the police and only worry about their own backs and the individuals that placed this poor man in the community, failed to ensure he took his medication and then relied on the police to solve the problem that they created. Do not blame the police!