The family of Everard Walker called Connecticut’s 211 line to ask for a mental health evaluation last Thursday. The response ended with police fatally shooting Walker in front of his son and daughter.
They were among several family members gathered for a press conference on Wednesday, to announce they plan to sue.
“They killed my husband,” Linda Gray said. “He had run out of medication, and we just wanted help for him.”
Gray said the family wanted an evaluation by mental health professionals.
“We did not call … police,” Gray said.
Attorney Ken Krayeske plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Hartford and the Hartford Police department. Krayeske said he’ll sue under Connecticut’s Police Accountability Act.
“Social workers who are trained specifically to respond to this type of mental health event should not have cops following in tow,” he said. “I’m not sure why we tout those services if we’re going to send 11 police officers with guns for a routine mental health call. It’s absurd.”
Walker is survived by his five children, his mother, brother and his spouse.
State investigators release video clips
The final moments of the hour-long interaction between Walker, police and his children unfold through multiple camera angles, as released in a report by the Office of the Inspector General, the agency tasked under state law with investigating all police shootings.
In the minutes leading up to the video footage, the inspector general’s report said police were asked by two mental health professionals from the Capitol Region Mental Health Center to respond to a call from Walker’s family member. Family indicated he was experiencing “an acute mental health crisis,” according to the report.
They arrived at his apartment on Capitol Avenue shortly after 10 a.m. and the professionals spoke to Walker through the open doorway. His son, one of his daughters, and later his spouse was present.
Police tried to enter, but retreated when they became concerned that Walker might throw a pot of boiling water, the report said.
Discussions with Walker continued until about 11 a.m., when Walker tried to close the door.
One of the clips in the report shows video taken by Walker’s daughter on an iPad as she stands in the open doorway facing police, appearing to tell her dad to let a woman come through.
“Shut up,” Walker appears to reply from behind his daughter inside the apartment.
“He put his hands on me, so I’m not shutting up!” she said.
The next few seconds unfold in a blur, where Walter appears to struggle with his daughter near the doorway. The iPad falls to the ground, showing a ceiling and someone’s leg, while the daughter screams.
Walter then appears in frame holding a knife.
Several gunshots ring out before the footage stops.
Body camera footage from two different officers show the struggle.
In Officer Alexander Clifford’s body camera footage, several officers enter the apartment and some can be heard yelling for Walker to drop the knife.
Walker continues to approach officers in the doorway and Clifford then fires several shots.
“Walker appeared to be poised to stab [an officer] who had fallen backwards,” the inspector general’s report said. “Officer Clifford then fired several shots from his department-issued firearm.”
Footage from the body camera worn by Officer Geovanny Rivera shows he’s behind several officers pushing to get in the doorway, as Walker’s son tries to restrain his father. Walker breaks free and Rivera’s camera appears to be pushed up against the wall; then shots ring out.
“Walker suffered several gunshot wounds, received medical attention at the scene, and was later pronounced dead at Saint Francis Hospital,” the report said.
The medical examiner confirmed Walker died by homicide, with gunshot wounds to the torso, neck and right upper extremity, with results of a toxicological screening pending.
The inspector general’s office and the State Police Central District Major Crime Squad continue to investigate.
Connecticut Public’s Matt Dwyer and Cassandra Basler contributed to this story.
