Officer Justified In Fatal Shooting Of West Haven Man: Inspector General

WEST HAVEN, CT — A West Haven police officer was found to be justified in using deadly force in a shooting that killed a 33-year-old man in a 2023 incident in West Haven, according to a report by the Office of the Inspector General.

Connecticut Inspector General Robert J. Devlin Jr. released a report Thursday regarding the “use of deadly force” by the West Haven Police Department on Dec. 1, 2023 resulting in the death of Jovan Washington.

Police responded around 1:55 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2023 to an apartment in the 200 block of Terrace Avenue on a domestic violence complaint.

Officers decided that Washington would be taken into custody on domestic violence charges, and because he was in his bedroom wearing only a tank top and underwear, they asked him to get dressed, according to the report.

Washington moved toward a closet and then “quickly turned and reached under his mattress and produced a handgun,” according to the report.

“A struggle for the gun then ensued between Jovan and Officer Cody Bacon,” Devlin wrote in the report. “During this struggle, Jovan fired one round striking Officer Bacon in the upper left thigh. Despite orders to drop the gun, Jovan refused to let go of it. Officer Alex Triscritti then fired three rounds. When the struggle for the weapon persisted, Officer Triscritti fired a fourth round. At this point, Jovan stopped struggling and let go of the firearm.”

Police provided medical assistance at the scene and Washington was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

In his statement, Triscritti said he heard a gunshot go off during Bacon’s struggle with Washington. He saw that Washington was holding a black colored handgun with a laser sight illuminated. When Washington rolled over, Triscritti said he saw that the laser sight on Washington’s gun was directly pointed at him, and he then took cover behind the door frame just out in the hallway.

Triscritti radioed “shots fired, shots fired” to other officers and reentered the room with his gun drawn.

“At this time, I could see Jovan on the ground with both hands on the handgun and saw the laser sight was pointing all around the floor and walls in the area where I was standing,” Triscritti wrote in the report. “I saw Officer Bacon holding onto the front of the firearm trying to push it to the ground. Jovan was pulling up on the handgun and refusing to drop it. I could see the laser sight coming from Jovan’s hand and saw it pointing directly at me. I was in immediate fear for my life and the lives of my brother officers. I moved to get a clear, unobstructed line of sight and discharged my firearm three times striking Jovan in the chest. After firing, Jovan let out a loud groan while still gripping onto his firearm. Jovan refused to let go of the handgun and continued to lift it up in my direction.

“I could see Officer Bacon struggling to hold onto the firearm with both his hands. I then jumped onto Jovan and tried to grab the firearm out of Jovan’s hands with my left hand while still having my firearm in my right hand. At this time, Officer Bacon was holding onto Jovan’s handgun. I now also had one hand on the gun and Jovan had two hands on it with his finger still on the trigger. Officer Bacon and I could not force the pistol out of his grip, and I was struggling to push the gun down into the floor. I pointed my handgun at Jovan’s chest and shouted at him twice, ‘Drop the gun. Drop the gun.’ Officer Ouared was also commanding Jovan to drop the gun. Jovan did not comply, and I could feel him still attempting to pull up on his gun. After Jovan failed to drop and let go of his firearm, I discharged a single additional round into Jovan’s chest. Immediately after discharging the last round, Jovan let go of the firearm and Officer Bacon was able to remove it from Jovan’s grasp.”

In the complainant’s statement, she told inspectors that Washington no longer used drugs, but has been diagnosed with mental health conditions, specifically, bipolar, schizoaffective disorder, and PTSD.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be: “Gunshot wounds of torso and extremities.” The manner of death was certified as a homicide.

In his analysis, Devlin wrote that Triscritti “confronted a sudden, unexpected, and dangerous situation when Jovan Washington reached under his mattress and grabbed a handgun.”

“It became more perilous when Washington fired the gun, striking Officer Bacon in the leg,” Devlin wrote. “The officers were facing the actual use and imminent continued use of deadly force against them. Under these circumstances, Officer Triscritti’s use of deadly force to defend himself and the other officers was objectively reasonable and justified.

“The reasonableness factors in the statute do not undermine this conclusion. Jovan Washington was armed with a deadly weapon. There was no opportunity for de-escalation efforts and the officers did not precipitate the use of deadly force by their tactics.

“I am frank to admit that I cannot understand why Jovan Washington would grab a gun and fire it at police. I suppose it was an act of desperation of some kind. Given the threat he posed, however, Officer Triscritti’s actions were appropriate and necessary to eliminate that threat.”

Read Devlin’s full report here.