East Hartford officers' shooting at suspect driving vehicle that rammed cruiser was justified
By: -----
East Hartford, CT - The Office of the Inspector General concluded it's investigation of a shooting involving two East Hartford police officers who opened fire on a car fleeing an auto shop last year, saying the officers were justified in using deadly force.
East Hartford police were called to Governor's Auto Body on 200 Governor Street around 3:30 p.m.; officers were told someone pointed a firearm at one of the tow operators during a dispute about whether items were missing from a vehicle towed into the shop the day before.
Officer Brian Altamirano was the first to arrive at the scene, seeing a white Infiniti in the parking lot. There was someone in the driver's seat with a man and a woman standing on the passenger side, according to officials. The driver was identified in the report as Deshawn Fitzpatrick.
Officer Daniel Guilfuchi then arrived at the shop and stopped near the Infiniti. Altamirano exited his cruiser and asked if anyone had any firearms.
The Infiniti crashed into Guilfuchi’s cruiser and then, as it was backing up, hit the two people who were pulling a child out of the moving car while holding another child, as seen in the provided dash cam footage.
As the Infiniti was driving away, Guilfuchi fired his weapon at least six times at the car and Altamirano also fired his gun at the car, according to the Inspector General.