Thomas Breen photo
Officers Dan Smith and Paul Prusinski.
On a recent Thursday morning, Hill beat cops Paul Prusinski and Daniel Smith followed up with a car that had been parked for an hour outside of a known drug-dealing hotspot — and wound up making a gun arrest.
The following Tuesday, the pair followed up with a car connected to a previous robbery and shooting — and wound up making a gun arrest.
Just one day later, they followed up with still another car that had been hanging around still another drug-dealing hotspot — and wound up making still another gun arrest.
Prusinski, 33, and Smith, 30, made those three gun arrests in the Hill on three successive crime-suppression shifts between Nov. 17 and Nov. 22.
“A hat trick,” quipped Prusinski, whose love of hockey and other sports is shared by Smith — a reason both cited when explaining why they get along so well together on the job.
They two city police officers are typically assigned to the midnight shift in the Hill. They made each of these three recent firearm-related arrests during overtime assignments they had picked up in the mornings after their usual night’s work.
“This is a response to the recent violence. These officers are working hard despite the staffing levels, despite people taking off for the holidays,” Assistant Police Chief David Zannelli said in praise of Prusinski’s and Smith’s work. They’re taking crime-suppression overtime assignments and “they’re producing. They’re actually working. They’re able to identify the correct” cars and suspects, and take guns off of the street. He also lauded Hill top cop Sgt. Jasmine Sanders and Hill community members for helping identify these hotspots where officers need to patrol.
Prusinski, a 13-year New Haven Police Department (NHPD) veteran from North Haven, and Smith, a four-year NHPD veteran from West Haven, agreed.
They told the Independent that each of these arrests came from suspicious behavior they recognized as likely connected to the daytime sale of illegal drugs in the Hill: cars parked by drug-dealing hotspots, a driver’s quick concealment of a large wad of cash, frantic shuffling and rummaging of belongings in a car’s center console as police approach.
They also said that these three gun arrests started with traffic violations — and then turned into more serious arrests as they observed guns, each of which was loaded and each of which was unregistered, along with narcotics.
“There’s a high volume of firearms on the street,” Prusinski said. That means the possibility of a gun being present is often in the back of his and Smith’s minds when they make a stop. In these three incidents, that proved to be the case.
Gun Arrest #1: Car Fled, Firearm Stashed In The Shrubs
According to the Independent’s review of related police reports and interview with Prusinski and Smith, here’s how those three recent gun arrests played out:
On Thursday, Nov. 16, at around 8:45 a.m., Smith and Prusinski were on patrol on Congress Avenue when Prusinski saw a blue Kia SUV with a Florida license plate parked near Redfield Street, in front of a mini-mart that “has been heavily plagued with illegal narcotic transactions within the recent weeks,” as Prusinski wrote in his arrest report.
They said the driver remained parked outside of that address for an hour. He didn’t get out of the car. But people whom the cops recognized as regular drug users in the Hill did go up to the car during that time.
The two cops made a U‑turn on Congress, which appeared to make the driver “nervous,” Prusinski said. The driver “made a right without a blinker” onto Redfield. The cops tried to stop him for the traffic violation, and he fled down Redfield. After canvassing the area, the cops found the car parked back on Congress. And they saw the driver walk away and get into another car, which drove on Congress towards Downes.
The police officers stopped this second car and detained the driver of the initial vehicle. He told police he had fled because he thought he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. With the help of Prusinski’s K9, the two cops went back to the scene of the parked car and found hidden in the shrubs roughly 15 feet from the car a loaded 9 mm handgun and what Smith described as roughly “100 folds of heroin.” Surveillance footage that the cops later reviewed showed the suspect taking items out of his car and placing them by the area where they later found the gun and drugs.
The officers wound up arresting and charging the 38-year-old New Havener with possession of a pistol without a permit, criminal possession of a firearm, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, and reckless driving, among other charges. The state’s online criminal court database does not yet include information about the arrest, including whether or not the suspect has entered a plea or been released on bail.
Gun Arrest #2: "No Standing," Car Connected To Past Shooting
Less than a week later, on Tuesday, Nov. 21, at around 10:18 a.m., Prusinski and Smith were on another crime-suppression overtime detail in the Hill, this time patrolling the area of Daggett Street. They saw a Jaguar SUV with two occupants parked in a “No Standing” zone.
The two cops ran the plates of the car with the traffic violation and found that it was “wanted in connection with a robbery and shots fired” incident on Daggett Street from back in August, according to Smith’s police report.
The two officers then pulled their cruiser behind the Jaguar, activated the car’s overhead lights, and made contact with the driver and passenger. They said the two men appeared nervous and kept reaching around the car’s center console. Prusinski remembered thinking to himself, “What are you reaching for you don’t want us to locate?”
After asking both men to get out of the car, the cops saw that the car’s passenger, a 34-year-old New Havener, had a loaded 9mm handgun tucked into his waistband. They also found two containers with 18 pills of Ecstasy.
The cops wound up arresting the car’s passenger on charges of carrying a pistol without a permit, criminal possession of a firearm, and weapon in a motor vehicle, among other charges. And they arrested the driver on charges of possession of a controlled substance and improper parking, among other charges. The driver was released from custody on a promise to appear, and the passenger remains detained on a $200,000 bond. Neither suspect has yet entered pleas to the various charges.
Gun Arrest #3: "No Standing," "A Large Stack Of Money"
And on the very next day, Wednesday, Nov. 22 at around 10:16 a.m., Smith and Prusinski were on still another crime-suppression overtime detail in the Hill, this time near Elliott Street and Sylvan, when they saw yet another car parked in a “No Standing” area. Again, this car was parked near a mini-mart that the cops recognized as a drug-dealing hotspot.
The two cops pulled up to the driver on the pretext of the traffic violation. They appeared to catch him by surprise, the cops said, because when they asked for his license, “he grabbed a large stack of money he had on his driver seat, and hid it under his left thigh,” according to Prusinski’s writeup.
The driver also “reached inside his front sweatshirt pocket multiple times and appeared very nervous by the way he was breathing and shaking.” Prusinski saw attached to the driver’s belt line a loaded 9mm handgun in a holster. The cops also wound up finding several small bags of what proved to be crack cocaine, as well as Ecstasy.
The cops arrested the 26-year-old New Havener and charged him with carrying a pistol without a permit, illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, illegal possession of a large capacity magazine, possession of a controlled substance, and improper parking, among other charges. The suspect has been released from custody on a $250,000 bond, and hasn’t yet entered a plea to the charges.
“Three guns in three shifts,” Smith said in a recent interview when reflecting on those recent arrests.
“It’s a rarity, especially” when on patrol, Prusinski said, finishing his colleague’s sentence.
After the pandemic, “people got so comfortable doing things they shouldn’t” be doing, Prusinski said when asked why he thinks the cops were able to make three gun-related arrests in three successive shifts — and about why there are so many guns out there to be seized, more broadly. “There’s a level of comfort” with dealing illegal drugs out in the open, and all too often people engaged in such activities have guns for protection.
Their advice for fellow officers who may find themselves working shift after shift after shift amid the ongoing staff shortage at the police department: “Don’t get discouraged about long shifts, long hours,” Smith said. Some shifts may see you respond to “17 alarms in a night,” he said. While some may see you come across people with illegal firearms, as these three shifts in a row did.
Previous stories about officers on the beat:
• Shafiq Abdussabur
• Yessennia Agosto
• Craig Alston & Billy White Jr.
• Joseph Aurora
• James Baker
• Lloyd Barrett
• Pat Bengston & Mike Valente
• Elsa Berrios
• Manmeet Bhagtana (Colon)
• Paul Bicki
• Paul Bicki (2)
• Sheree Biros
• Bitang
• Kevin Blanco
• Scott Branfuhr
• Bridget Brosnahan
• Craig Burnett & Orlando Crespo
• Keron Bryce and Steve McMorris
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia (2)
• Dennis Burgh
• Tyler Camp
• Tyler Camp and Justin Julianelle
• Anthony Campbell
• Darryl Cargill & Matt Wynne
• Elizabeth Chomka & Becky Fowler
• Rob Clark & Joe Roberts
• Sydney Collier
• Carlos Conceicao
• Carlos Conceicao (2)
• Carlos Conceicao and Josh Kyle
• David Coppola
• Mike Criscuolo
•Natalie Crosby
• Steve Cunningham and Timothy Janus
• Chad Curry
• Gregory Dash
• Roy Davis
• Joe Dease
• Milton DeJesus
• Milton DeJesus (2)
• Rose Dell
• Brian Donnelly
• Renee Dominguez, Leonardo Soto, & Mary Helland
• Anthony Duff
• Anthony Duff (2)
• Robert DuPont
• Robert DuPont and Rose Dell
• Eric Eisenhard & Jasmine Sanders
• Jeremie Elliott and Scott Shumway
• Jeremie Elliott (2)
• Jose Escobar Sr.
• Bertram Ettienne
• Bertram Ettienne (2)
• Tyler Evans
• Martin Feliciano & Lou DeCrescenzo
• Paul Finch
• Jeffrey Fletcher
• Renee Forte
• Marco Francia
• Michael Fumiatti
• Michael Fumiatti (2)
• Osvaldo Garcia, Marlena Ofiara & Jake Wright
• William Gargone
• William Gargone (2)
• William Gargone & Mike Torre
• Derek Gartner
• Derek Gartner & Ryan Macuirzynski
• Tom Glynn & Matt Williams
• Jon Haddad & Daniela Rodriguez
• Michael Haines
• Michael Haines & Brendan Borer
• Michael Haines & Brendan Borer (2)
• Dan Hartnett
• Ray Hassett
• Robert Hayden
• Heidi
• Patricia Helliger
• Robin Higgins
• Ronnell Higgins
• William Hurley & Eddie Morrone
• Derek Huelsman
• Racheal Inconiglios
• Juan Ingles
• Bleck Joseph and Marco Correa
• Shayna Kendall
• Shayna Kendall (2)
• Paul Kenney
• Hilda Kilpatrick
• Herb Johnson
• John Kaczor & Alex Morgillo
• Jillian Knox
• Peter Krause
• Peter Krause (2)
• Amanda Leyda
• Rob Levy
•Kyle Listro & Joseph Perrotti
• Anthony Maio
• Dana Martin
• Reggie McGlotten
• Daniel McLawrence
• Steve McMorris
• Juan Monzon
• Monique Moore and David Santiago
• Matt Myers
• Carlos and Tiffany Ortiz
• Tiffany Ortiz
• Doug Pearse and Brian Jackson
• Chris Perrone
• Joseph Perrotti
• Joseph Perrotti & Gregory Dash
• Ron Perry
• Joe Pettola
• Diego Quintero and Elvin Rivera
• Ryan Przybylski
• Stephanie Redding
• Tony Reyes
•David Rivera
• Luis & David Rivera
• Luis Rivera (2)
• Salvador Rodriguez
• Salvador Rodriguez (2)
• Brett Runlett
• David Runlett
• Betsy Segui & Manmeet Colon
• Allen Smith
• Marcus Tavares
• Martin Tchakirides
• David Totino
• Stephan Torquati
• Gene Trotman Jr.
* Elisa Tuozzoli
• Kelly Turner
• Lars Vallin (& Xander)
• Dave Vega & Rafael Ramirez
• Earl Reed
• Daophet Sangxayarath & Jessee Buccaro
• Jason Santiago
• Herb Sharp
• Matt Stevens and Jocelyn Lavandier
• Jessica Stone
• Jessica Stone & Mike DeFonzo
• Arpad Tolnay
• Mike Torre & Ray Saracco
• John Velleca
• Manuella Vensel
• Holly Wasilewski
• Holly Wasilewski (2)
• Alan Wenk
• Stephanija VanWilgen
• Donald White, Brandon Way, & David Santiago
• Elizabeth White & Allyn Wright
• Matt Williams
• Michael Wuchek
• Michael Wuchek (2)
• David Zannelli
• Cailtin Zerella
• Caitlin Zerella (2)
• Caitlin Zerella, Derek Huelsman, David Diaz, Derek Werner, Nicholas Katz, and Paul Mandel
• David Zaweski
Fun fact: today is the police departments 522nd day without a contract. Several more officers recently transferred, weve had to shut the main lobby of the police department several shifts per week because we dont have the staffing, and yesterday the day shift ran out of people to hold over from midnights so we only responded to crimes in progress.