West Haven officer charged with assault after bodycam footage shows him throw 18 punches on suspect
By: -----
West Haven, CT - There is a new look at the moment an officer is accused of using excessive force during an arrest back in July.
According to West Haven police, Officer Richard Naccarato acted outside his training.
“They said this is private property, you can’t sit here,” a man said in the bodycam video.
Originally, the West Haven officer was called to Campbell Avenue on July 1, where the man behind the black box in the video refused to move from where he was sitting in front of a bar, despite multiple requests from police.
“As long as I'm legally here I'm fine, I'm eating. I mean, I'm not the caller, I'm not here to talk to you,” said the man.
This back and forth continued for a while, and slowly became heated. Eventually, the man began to ask for Naccarato’s superior officer. This is where things began to get physical.
The officer began to force the man’s hands behind his back and appears to force the man to the ground. In the body camera video, Naccarato can be seen punching the man a reported 18 times.
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” said the man.
Things finally ended after about a minute and a half, once another officer handcuffed the man, but the damage was already done.
Hospital records show the man complained of head and neck pain and had minor head injuries.
Naccarato has been charged with second-degree assault, and state police are handling the case.