Bridgeport Police Shooting: Man Injured Files $6M Lawsuit

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A man who was wounded by police in the shooting has filed a $6 federal million lawsuit against the city. Julian Fyffe filed the suit in federal court. Fyffe's friend Jayson Negron was shot and killed by police.

Police say that Negron and Fyffe were in a stolen car driven by Negron and an officer was nearly run over. Fyffe's lawsuit alleges that police stopped the car without cause, were wrong to use deadly force and didn't provide immediate medical care, according to the Connecticut Post.

Rookie patrolman James Boulay shot and killed 15-year-old Bunnell High School student Negron. An amateur video which surfaced Friday appeared to show Negron moving on the pavement after he was shot, sparking outrage from members of the community and beyond.

Connecticut Police Chiefs Admonish ACLU

Meanwhile, The Connecticut Police Chiefs Association has condemned the ACLU after the organization made comments about the shooting.

A statement from the association said, "...the ACLU, an organization which proposes to fight for justice and civil liberties, denies a police officer the same rights while rushing to judge a tragic shooting death in Bridgeport by calling the event police misconduct before the facts are compiled and the independent investigation completed and reviewed by the state's attorney."

The Connecticut Police Chiefs Association also called into question whether the ACLU can identify police misconduct and alleges they make references to, "flawed and biased survey conducted by their questionably trained interns, exaggerated representations of police community interactions, most of which occur out of state, anecdotal references to police behavior, which are supported by little if any facts, with repeated calls to the legislature for police reform."

Lawmakers Call for Accountability

State lawmakers and several local groups will call for accountability from police when officers use deadly force after a local teen was shot by a Bridgeport patrolman Tuesday evening. Advocate groups are heading to Hartford to ask for the passage of House Bill 6663, which aims to hold police and state investigators more accountable. The bill requires officers to be placed on unpaid leave during the course of an investigation, and sets deadlines for prosecutors to investigate such situations.

The bill also would require the Division of Criminal Justice to investigate an officer's use of physical force, not just when someone dies. The investigation is being led by Waterbury State' attorney Maureen Platt and the Connecticut State Police's Western District Major Crime Detectives, and is expected to take several months.

Connecticut State Police issued a statement Monday stating they will not comment further until the investigation is complete. (To receive free news alerts from Bridgeport Patch, click here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

House Bill 6663 was co-sponsored by Rep. Robyn A. Porter (D-New Haven), Rep. Charlie Stallworth (D-Bridgeport), Rep. Josh Elliott (D-Hamden) and Rep. Brandon McGee (D-Hartford).

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The bill is set to be discussed just one week after rookie patrolman James Boulay shot and killed 15-year-old Bunnell High School student Jayson Negron who police say crashed into officers in a stolen car. An amateur video which surfaced Friday appeared to show Negron moving on the pavement after he was shot, sparking outrage from members of the community and beyond.

It is not yet clear whether the video is being used in the investigation. Police say officers identified the car Negron was driving as stolen, and attempted to stop it before it sped off and struck several cars in the process. When it came to a stop, police say Negron quickly reversed and struck an officer, which caused Boulay to fire his weapon killing Negron and injuring 21-year-old Julian Fyffe.

However, Attorney Michael Stratton who stated on Twitter that he is representing Fyffe in the case says that officers were never in danger.

Negron's body had been uncovered on the street for about six hours after the shooting, which police chief A.J. Perez said was done for evidence-collecting purposes. However Perez, community leaders and Mayor Joe Ganim voiced displeasure of the way the body was handled

"It bothers me to have a deceased young person have to remain for six or seven hours," Ganim said at a press conference Wednesday. "It is unacceptable from a community perspective."

A gofundme page has been started in support of Negron's funeral expenses. The page has raised $9,839 of it's $10,000 goal as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Image via Gofundme

Additional reporting by Rich Scinto (Patch Staff)