New Haven Public Safety Dispatch Supervisor Charged With Assault: NHPD

NEW HAVEN, CT — A city public safety dispatcher was charged by New Haven police in connection with an assault that was widely shared on social media, officials said.

Justin Augustine is a supervisor in the Public Services Answering Point, New Haven's civilian fire and police department dispatchers. He's seen on video from earlier this month slapping a man who is sitting on the ground outside a store in a Whalley Avenue shopping plaza, police spokesperson Christian Bruckhart said.

It was June 14 a few minutes past midnight when officers responded to private residence in New Haven on for an assault, which it turned out had occurred several hours prior at a different location, Bruckhart said. "It was initially reported as an argument which happened in a shopping plaza on Whalley Avenue, but a subsequent call approximately two hours later clarified that someone had been assaulted," Bruckhart said. Cops got video that showed the assault. At the time, officers were unable to identify the victim, according to Bruckhart. Partial video of the incident, including the slap, was widely shared on social media, he said.

An arrest warrant for Augustine was submitted and he turned himself in on charges of Assault in the 3rd Degree, Threatening in the 2nd Degree, and Breach of Peace in the 2nd Degree on 6/21/2024. He was released on a $2,500 court set bond.