The attorney who represents a Hartford Police Department officer charged in the fatal shooting of a man having a mental heath crisis has filed a court motion challenging the sworn affidavit the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General used to obtain the officer’s arrest, according to the police union.
Attorney Patrick Tomasiewicz filed a motion in Hartford Superior Court on Oct. 15 requesting that the court, at a minimum, hold a Franks hearing into how the state obtained a warrant for Officer Joseph Magnano’s arrest, Hartford Police Union President James Rutkauski said in a statement on Monday.
According to Rutkauski, the motion alleges that the sworn affidavit submitted by Chief Inspector Racheal Cain of the Connecticut Office of Inspector General did not give the judge who signed the warrant the truth.
The motion alleges that Cain swore “Magnano did not attempt to de-escalate the confrontation” then later reportedly says he “repeatedly ordered Jones to drop the knife,” warned him, “You’re going to get shot,” and “walked backwards to maintain some distance between himself and Jones,” Rutkauski said.
Rutkauski noted that commands, warnings and creating distance are de-escalation techniques used under the Hartford Police Department’s policy. “Cain swore Officer Magnano made no attempt, then described him making one,” he alleged. “Both statements cannot be true, and both are hers.”
Hartford officer charged with manslaughter in fatal shooting of man during mental health crisis
According to Rutkauski, Internal Affairs reportedly ordered Magnano to write a report on the shootings. Rutkauski alleged that its opening paragraph stated that he wrote it under that order, for administrative purposes only, and under the protection of Garrity v. New Jersey. “Garrity bars the state from using a compelled statement against an officer in a criminal case,” Rutkauski noted.
Rutkauski alleged that Cain removed the Garrity paragraph from Magnano’s administrative report and then quoted his report at length. “Nothing in the affidavit told the judge she removed it,” Rutkauski claimed.
The Hartford Police Department deferred to the union statement when asked for comment on Monday.
Tomasiewicz, Magnano’s attorney, said in a statement: “The motion speaks for itself, and I am doing everything within the law to exonerate Joseph Magnano.”
Rutkauski also referenced the Connecticut Appellate Court reversal this summer regarding a manslaughter conviction in State v. Fisher because Inspector General Eliot Prescott, then the trial judge, presided while his application to become inspector general was pending. According to Rutkauski, the court held he “should have disqualified himself or, alternatively, disclosed such information to the parties.”
“He did neither. In Fisher, the parties were kept in the dark. In Officer Magnano’s case, it was the judge,” Rutkauski said.
“Steven Jones lost his life on February 27, and we do not forget that. His family deserves the truth as much as Officer Magnano does,” Rutkauski said. “We call on the Office of the Inspector General to explain why these facts were not in front of the judge who signed that warrant.
“The Governor stood beside Eliot Prescott when he was introduced as Inspector General, and he nominates the members of the Criminal Justice Commission that appointed Prescott. Governor (Ned) Lamont can call for an independent review of how this warrant was prepared, or he can look away. If he looks away, he is choosing to let this corruption of the warrant process continue, and every police officer in Connecticut will understand exactly what value he places on our profession,” Rutkauski added.
“The state asks officers to run toward danger and put their lives on the line. The least it owes them in return is fairness and the truth,” Rutkauski concluded.
When reached for comment on Monday, the Office of Inspector General said it will respond in court at the appropriate time.
Jones was fatally shot outside a residence on Blue Hills Avenue in Hartford on Feb. 27 after his sister phoned authorities and said he was experiencing a mental health crisis. She told dispatchers he had cut himself and was still armed with a knife.
Hartford police bodycam footage shows man shot at nine times following mental health call
Three officers responded to the scene before Magnano and were able to avoid Jones’ advances toward them as he held a knife by his side, body camera footage shows. They called out for him to drop the blade numerous times. The first officer to arrive tried multiple times to use a taser but it was not effective in disarming Jones, the footage shows.
With their guns drawn, the three officers at one point were able to surround Jones, who had a small snowbank to his back as began swaying back and forth in the street. He appeared to be calming down and had temporarily abandoned his attempts to move toward police.
According to the warrant affidavit used to support a first-degree manslaughter charge against Magnano, the Office of Inspector General said the then-officer was not dispatched to the scene but took it upon himself to respond, hitting speeds of more than 80 mph to get there. Once he arrived, Magnano got within about 17 feet of Jones instead of keeping more distance and yelled for Jones to drop the knife, according to the warrant affidavit.
The other three officers were talking calmly to Jones in an effort to get him to drop the blade. All three officers were all at the scene longer than Magnano and did not fire their guns at him, according to the warrant affidavit.
The warrant affidavit also alleged that Magnano, who was backing away from Jones’ advances and screaming for him to drop the knife, did not seek cover using two police cruisers that were behind him as he backed up into an intersection.
According the warrant affidavit, the Office of Inspector General believes Jones did not pose an imminent risk to any bystanders in the area. He also alleges that Magnano had “ample” space to keep backing up and that at least four of the shots he fired came after Jones had fallen to the ground.
Rutkauski said he will be holding a press conference at the Hartford Police Union office on Tuesday morning to make a brief statement and take questions.
Information from Courant reporter Justin Muszynski was used in this report.