Officer Fired After Shooting Man In Mental Health Crisis – When Others Tried To De-Escalate

Hartford, Conn (from) – A white Connecticut police officer who fatally shot a Black man 30 seconds after arriving at the scene, where three fellow officers had spent a few minutes trying to de-escalate the situation, was fired Friday.

Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said in a statement that he terminated Officer Joseph Magnano effective immediately in connection with the February 27 shooting of Steven Jones, who was on the city street holding a knife. The killing came eight days after a different Hartford officer fatally shot another man in a mental health crisis.

“In crew-worn camera footage of the incident, as well as publicly shared video, I saw three officers working together as a team to defuse a mental health crisis in a way that exemplifies the best of our police department,” Arulampalam said. “Officer Magnano’s actions did not meet that standard.”

A Hartford police spokeswoman referred questions to Chief James Rovella, who did not immediately return a phone or email message Friday. The police union did not immediately respond to an email message. The union defended Magnano’s actions, saying in a social media post that his use of force was legal.

Contact information for Magnano, who is new to the force and still on probation, could not be immediately found.

The state inspector general’s office is investigating the shooting and will determine whether to file criminal charges against Magnano. Earlier this month, the office released body camera footage from four officers who responded to the scene.

Jones’ sister, Audrey Jones, had called 911 seeking help for her brother because he was having a mental health crisis, reporting that he had a knife and had cut himself.

Body camera footage showed Steven Jones on a city street as three officers kept telling him for several minutes to drop the knife he was holding. Officers also told him they were there to help him.

“Steve, you’re OK. We’re going to make sure you’re OK,” Authority James Prignano tells him. “Put the knife down. We’re going to talk to someone, OK?”

Jones cannot be heard saying anything in the video.

About 12 minutes after the 911 call, Magnano arrived and drew his pistol while also ordering Jones to drop the knife, telling him “You’re going to get shot,” the video shows. A woman was heard shouting, “Don’t shoot!”

The video shows Prignano motioning at Magnano, appearing to tell him to back off. As Jones slowly walked toward Magnano, officers gave a final warning before shooting Jones nine times, about 30 seconds after he exited his cruiser, the video shows.

Jones died at a hospital four days later, authorities said.

Magnano’s firing came a day after Jones’ funeral, which was attended by the Reverend Al Sharpton and Ben Crump, an attorney for the Jones family who has represented relatives of Black people killed in high-profile police shootings across the country.

“Steven had a mental health crisis,” Crump said at the funeral. “He needs help from the Hartford Police Department, but he has nine bullet holes in his body. That’s a shame in the eyes of God. And your mental health status and the color of your skin shouldn’t equate to a death sentence.

In a statement, Sharpton on Friday called the shooting “a necessary first step,” but said “the Jones family and the people of Hartford deserve full justice.” He and Crump called for reforms aimed at improving Hartford police’s response to calls involving mental health.

On February 19, Everard Walker was fatally shot by Hartford police in a different neighborhood. A relative has called the 211 help line of health and human services. Two mental health professionals responded to Walker’s apartment asking police to join them on the phone, Inspector General Eliot Prescott said in a preliminary report.

At the apartment, Walker, two children and the officer got into a physical confrontation and Walker pulled a knife, Prescott said. Walker did not obey police commands to drop the knife, Prescott said.

Police body camera video shows Walker raising the knife as Officer Geovanny Rivera appears to retreat. Officer Alexander Clifford then fired multiple shots at Walker, who later died at a hospital. Prescott also investigated the shooting.

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