The Hamden police officer who opened fire on an unarmed couple on April 16 had an almost spotless record in the department, save for a fender bender with a lamp post.
The Hamden department released the personnel file of the officer, Devin Eaton, to the Independent in response to a public-records request.
The file shows Eaton came to the Hamden Police Department in June, 2016 after serving as an officer in New Haven since 2014.
On the morning of April 16, he and Yale Police Officer Terrance Pollock opened fire on Paul Witherspoon and Stephanie Washington, sending Washington to the hospital. The shooting sparked protests and calls for the release of body cam footage, greater transparency in both departments, and a private investigation.
Before joining the New Haven police force, Eaton was a manager and server at the Hamden Townhouse Restaurant. He attended Gateway Community College from the spring of 2009 until the fall of 2010, but did not graduate.
In his time with the Hamden Police Department leading up to the April 16 shooting, Eaton was disciplined only once. On Feb. 22, 2018, he was pulling into the Hamden Hall parking lot, and struck the concrete base of a lamppost, which he said he did not see. After an investigation, the department determined that he had violated department policy through “failure to properly care for assigned equipment and vehicles… damaging or causing damage to same due to neglect or carelessness.”
One sergeant determined that the accident had caused $10,000 of damage. His punishment: a “verbal reprimand” from Chief Thomas Wydra.
