Officer fired after fatally shooting man in mental health crisis — as
others tried to de-escalate
[March 28, 2026]
By DAVE COLLINS
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A white Connecticut police officer who fatally
shot a Black man in a mental health crisis was fired Friday as public
outrage grew over videos showing he began shooting 30 seconds after
arriving at the scene, where other officers had spent several minutes
de-escalating the situation.
The officer's firing came a day after the Rev. Al Sharpton and noted
civil rights lawyer Ben Crump spoke at the funeral of the man who was
killed, Steven Jones.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said he fired Officer Joseph Magnano
because of what he saw on police body camera footage of the Feb. 27
killing.
The videos, released earlier this month by the state's inspector
general, showed that Jones was was on a city street holding a large
knife, but that the first group of police officers who arrived
backpedaled to keep their distance from him, spoke to him kindly, and
seemed to have gotten him to calm down.
“And then I saw one officer come in," Arulampalam said at a news
conference. He said that Magnano, a rookie officer still in a
probationary period, “did not work with his teammates,” didn't
de-escalate, “and the end result of that was a tragic incident that took
the life of Steven Jones.”
“Officer Magnano came in sirens blazing. He came in and — from the video
— appears to have re-escalated the situation and made it worse.”
The local police union president, James Rutkauski, defended Magnano,
saying his actions were justified and in line with department policies.
“Officers will now hesitate in split-second situations, not out of fear
of the suspect, but out of fear of political second-guessing afterward,”
he said in a statement. “Those lost seconds will slow responses and
leave families more exposed as criminals sense the weakness.”
Contact information for Magnano could not immediately be found.
A Hartford police spokesman referred questions to Chief James Rovella,
who did not immediately return a phone message or email Friday.
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 the body camera footage from the 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.
The body camera footage shows Steven Jones on a city street as three
officers keep telling him for several minutes to drop the knife he is
holding. The officers also tell him they’re there to help.
[to top of second column]
|
Pallbearers carry out the casket of Steven Jone, a man in a mental
health crisis who was shot by police, following Jones' funeral
service at The First Cathedral, Thursday, March 26, 2026 in
Bloomfield, Conn. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant via AP)
“Steve, you’re OK. We’re going to make sure you’re OK,” Officer
James Prignano tells him. “Just drop the knife. We’re going to go
talk to somebody, OK?”
Jones can’t be heard saying anything in the videos.
About 12 minutes after the 911 call, Magnano arrives, draws his
pistol and shouts at Jones to drop the knife, telling him,“You’re
going to get shot,” the video shows. A woman is heard screaming,
“Don’t shoot him!”
The videos show Prignano motioning at Magnano, appearing to tell him
to back away. As Jones slowly walks toward Magnano, the officer
gives a final warning before shooting at Jones nine times, about 30
seconds after he got out of his cruiser, video shows.
Jones died at a hospital four days later, authorities said.
At Jones’ funeral, Sharpton delivered the eulogy. Crump, a lawyer
for Jones’ family who has represented relatives of Black people
killed in high-profile police shootings, said Jones “needed a
helping hand from the Hartford Police Department, but instead he got
nine bullet holes in his body.”
“That is a shame before God. And the status of your mental health
and the color of your skin should not equal the death sentence,”
Crump said.
In a statement, Sharpton on Friday called the firing “a necessary
first step,” but said “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.
Jones' shooting happened just days after a different Hartford
officer fatally shot another man in crisis.
On Feb. 19, Everard Walker was fatally shot by Hartford police in a
different neighborhood. A relative had called the 211 health and
human services help line. Two mental health professionals responding
to Walker’s apartment asked police to accompany them to the call,
Inspector General Eliot Prescott said in a preliminary report.
Officer Alexander Clifford fired several shots at Walker, as Walker
raised a knife at another officer who appeared to be falling
backward, said Prescott, who also is investigating that shooting.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
