A TikTok Video Alleges Officer Use Of Force, Cop Not In Violation: PD

EAST HAVEN, CT —In the 30-second TikTok video, East Haven police officer Donato Palma, one of the department's K9 officers, is seen in the video at the doorway to a home where a man, referred to as "John," can be heard asking police to retreat and close his front door.

Palma is heard asking, "Can you please come outside and talk like a gentleman."

"Yeah, yeah but you have to respect my rights and my property, please close the door. You're on camera! I'm asking you to please close the door," the man says.

"John, John," Palma says softly, asking the man to again come outside and talk to him, "Like a man. Come on. Come on."

The man continues to insist that Palma close the door, as the officer says again for the man to come outside.

"I gotta go inside the house," the man is heard saying and then Palma can be seen pushing into the home with another officer, who cannot be fully seen, following.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Palma why are you doing that?"

Patch reached out to East Haven police for comment.

Police Capt. Joseph M. Murgo, the department's spokesperson, texted Patch the following statement:

"We are aware of a TikTok video going around involving East Haven Police Officer Palma. I wanted to provide some context about the video, which was recorded on August 11th.

"The situation involved a suicidal male with self-inflicted wounds. After attempting to de-escalate the situation for approximately 1 hour, Officer Palma took the opportunity to take him into custody to prevent further harm when it was clear the subject was about to retreat back into the house. In volatile situations like the one we faced on August 11th, split second decisions are the determining factor between life and death.

"The brief video clip does not provide the full context and appears to have been posted with the intent to misrepresent the incident. As per our policy, the incident was reviewed by a supervisor, and a use of force report was submitted. Officer Palma was found not to be in violation of any department policies.

"While we understand and respect the importance of transparency, it’s crucial to have the complete context before making public posts about such incidents. Due to the fact that this incident involved someone in crisis, and per CT State statute, no further comment will be made."