A Hartford police officer who shot and killed a man in mental health distress in February was “legally justified in doing so,” according to the conclusions of an investigation by the Connecticut Office of Inspector General.
Inspector General Eliot Prescott’s Tuesday report details the moments leading up to the February 19th shooting of 53-year-old Everard Walker inside his Capitol Avenue home.
According to Prescott, Walker’s son called 211 that morning to report his father was experiencing a mental health crisis. Social workers and police officers responded to Walker’s apartment. The report indicates that Walker closed the door on them after letting his son Jahdane and daughter Nzinga into the home.
Twelve minutes later, according to the report, Walker opened the door and spoke with the social workers and shortly thereafter again attempted to close the door, but was stopped by Jahdane. The report says the father and son “got into a physical struggle,” at which point officers entered the apartment “to separate them.”
The report states Walker then took a pot off the stove and “gestured in a way to suggest that he was going to throw the hot liquid at the officers.” At that point, officers left the apartment, with one officer using his foot to prevent the apartment door from closing.
The report states that Nzinga then stood in the doorway, preventing officers from entering. Officers attempted to arrest Nzinga, “but Jahdane intervened and pushed the officers away. A chaotic struggle ensued involving Nzinga, Jahdane, and the officers.”
It’s at this point that Prescott’s report indicates Walker “began swinging a knife” towards an officer. In response, Officer Alexander Clifford opened fire.
According to autopsy results included in Prescott’s report, Walker’s cause of death was “gunshot wounds of torso, neck, and right upper extremity.” It notes Walker was struck by four gunshots.
“Based on the investigation, I have determined that Officer Clifford’s use of deadly physical force was in response to Everard Walker’s imminent use of deadly force against others,” Prescott writes in the report. “I have further determined that such use of force by Clifford was objectively reasonable and legally justified.”
“Accordingly, neither I nor my office will take further action regarding this matter,” Prescott concludes.
Family, lawyers react
Members of Walker’s family and their legal counsel gathered at Hartford City Hall on Tuesday following the release of the inspector general’s report. They said police never should have been in the home in the first place.
“This family wanted mental health providers,” said Jose Rojas, an attorney representing the Walker family. “Instead, they ended up getting an army of police officers that were determined to enter into a home to which they were not welcome.”
Walker’s daughter Menen said her family had called strictly for mental health support.
“They did not tell us on the phone that police were coming,” she said. “If they had done so, we would have told them from the phone call, ‘We don’t want you guys to come. We’ll figure it out.’”
Everard Walker was Black, while the officer who shot him, Alexander Clifford, is white.
“Not only was my father suffering from psychosis, but he’s also a Black man. He’s a Black man – was, my apologies – was a Black man with locs,” she said. “You shouldn’t have to think about those things when you’re trying to seek help.”
“They did not give him compassion. What they saw was a Black man, and they didn’t see the pain he was enduring,” she said. “Their actions have now inflicted a pain on my family that we have to live with for the rest of our lives because we decided to call for help.”
Rojas said he and the rest of the family’s legal counsel are considering civil litigation.
“This final report is not the end of this investigation,” Rojas said. “It is the beginning.”
“One thing is clear: a cry for mental health should not end with bullets being sprayed into a person in his own home,” Rojas said.
In a statement, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said the matter was not finished.
“Now that the state has concluded its investigation, the City of Hartford will conduct its own pursuant to city policy,” Arulampalam said. “I remain committed to building a police force that is rooted in accountability and trust within the community.”
Connecticut Public has reached out to the Hartford Police Union for comment.
Walker’s case is not the only Hartford police shooting to draw scrutiny this year. Just eight days after Walker’s killing, Hartford Police Officer Joseph Magnano shot and killed Steven “Stevie” Jones on Blue Hills Avenue while Jones was experiencing a mental health crisis and holding a knife.
In that case, Prescott concluded Jones’ shooting was not justified, and Magnano has since been charged with manslaughter.
