Benjamin Crump, a nationally recognized civil rights attorney, gathered with advocates at the State Capitol in Hartford Thursday, where they called for greater police accountability and a quick investigation into the deadly police shooting of Steven “Stevie” Jones.
The Hartford man was shot and killed by a Hartford police officer in February, while experiencing a mental health crisis.
Crump and others spoke at the capitol as part of the NAACP's Legislative Advocacy Day. They say Connecticut officials aren’t moving fast enough to investigate Jones' death.
Crump said the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General doesn’t need months to figure out what was captured on video.
“It seems that the Inspector General's Office is dragging its feet, and that's troubling to the family of Stevie Jones,” Crump said. “I mean, you got a video, it should not take that long for you to investigate when you got a video that has visual evidence, audio evidence.”
Bystander video of the shooting shows a group of Hartford police officers attempting to calm Jones down, before a police officer identified by the Office of Inspector General, as Joseph Magnano, later arrived, and shot Jones nine times.
The bystander video and police bodycam footage sparked outrage across Connecticut, according to previous reporting from Connecticut Public. Jones died a week later from his wounds.
Deputy Chief State’s Attorney, Inspector General Eliot D. Prescott, pushed back against Crump’s criticisms in a written statement which said in part...
“Although the Office of Inspector General fully understands, appreciates, and shares the desire of all parties to see this investigation completed as promptly as possible, matters of this significance require an examination of all of the facts,” Prescott said. “It must be thorough and comprehensive. The investigation also requires other agencies to complete forensic testing of relevant evidence and to document conclusions drawn from that testing.”
Crump and others are also calling for greater police oversight and asked state lawmakers to consider legislation Crump dubbed the Steven “Stevie” Jones law.
Crump says it would mandate police officers to first use nonlethal force, which is already mandated by Connecticut’s Police Accountability Act.
“Law enforcement must show that they used each lesser use of force prior to using deadly force during a mental health crisis call.” Crump said.
A spokesperson for State Rep. Antonio Felipe said the bill Crump is proposing is not being considered in the state legislature and characterized Crump's push as a call to draft and pass a bill into law.
Jones’ sister, Audrey Jones said changes to how local law enforcement deal with mental health crises could end up saving other lives.
“No family should have to bury a loved one because they are struggling mentally,” Jones said. “This is not just about my brother. This is about every person who may face a mental health crisis, their life matters, and Black Lives Matter.”
