The following contains editorial content written by a
retired Chief of Police and current staff writer for Law
Enforcement Today.� Also – an opening note from our National
Spokesman, Kyle S. Reyes:
“The CREST SWAT team is comprised of some of the most
incredible and professional men I’ve ever had the privilege of
meeting. Their character and integrity are second to none – and
the mayor of Manchester and every single Democrat who stood behind
him should be ashamed for their unceasing attacks against law
enforcement.
But of course to feel shame, one would first have to have a
conscience and a moral compass – something we’ve come to
realize is completely absent from these spineless and inept
‘leaders’ who are an embarrassment to their city and this great
country.â€
—
MANCHESTER, CT- An investigation into a deadly
police shooting in Manchester, Connecticut on April 2 has resulted
in the regional SWAT team being found justified in using deadly
force against the 27-year-old man, the
Middletown Press is reporting.
The report, released by Tolland State’s Attorney Matthew
Gedansky found that the shooting death of Jose “Jay†Soto, 27
of Manchester outside his mother’s home was reasonable and
justified under the circumstances.
Soto, who had been released from prison last summer for a
first-degree robbery conviction had gone to live in a halfway
house, however frequently left the facility. Eventually, the
Connecticut Department of Corrections fugitive task force obtained
a warrant for Soto for parole violations, the
Hartford Courant reported.
DOC officials said Soto had been classified as a parole violator
in October of last year when he had not made contact with his
parole officer just two months after his release from prison.
He was tracked down to his mother’s home in Manchester, where
they spoke to her. While doing so, they heard a man in the basement
yell up that he was going to start shooting, a Manchester police
spokesman said at the time.
Parole officers got Soto’s mother out of the house, and
contacted Manchester police. Soto’s mother allegedly told the
parole officers that he did not have a gun, and related that he may
have suffered from a mental illness.
Manchester police then activated the CREST (Capitol Region
Emergency Services Team) Team, a regional tactical unit comprised
of officers from throughout the Hartford region, who responded to
the scene. The team is staffed by officers from 11 area police
departments, as well as the University of Connecticut.
The Courant said that Soto’s mother attempted to get him out
of the house, which was unsuccessful.
CREST made contact with Soto inside the home, and a negotiator
convinced him to come outside and surrender, however when he left
the home a “confrontation†arose and he was shot and killed by
four members of the tactical team.
At the time, the Manchester Police Department released dash
camera footage from a cruiser parked somewhat of a distance away
from the home, which showed the door “swiftly open†and someone
come out of the house before falling out of view.
Four members of the CREST team, identified as Officer Matthew
Alexander of the Enfield Police Department, Sgt. Shawn Krom of the
Manchester Police Department, Officer David Williams also of
Manchester, and Officer Shane Murphy of the Wethersfield Police
Department, were the officers who discharged their weapons. It was
unknown whose rounds actually struck Soto.
Gedansky’s report said:
“Based upon the facts as set forth in this
investigation, Officer Alexander, Sergeant Krom, Officer Williams
and Officer Murphy reasonably believed that the use of deadly force
was necessary to defend themselves, fellow officers, and civilians
in the immediate area from the imminent use of deadly physical
force from Mr. Soto,†Gedansky wrote.
“The use of deadly force by Officer Alexander,
Sergeant Krom, Officer Williams, and Officer Murphy was entirely
appropriate under Connecticut General Statutes.â€
While it was determined that Soto was not, in fact, armed with a
firearm, that did not make a difference, according to Gedansky’s
report.
“The fact that it was ultimately determined that Mr.
Soto possessed a cell phone in his hands and did not possess a
firearm at the time of the shooting does not end the analysis,â€
Gedansky wrote.
“(T)he final analysis is: Was it reasonable for the 4
officers to believe Mr. Soto was armed with a firearm and ready to
fire at the time they fired their weapons? The analysis is the same
for each officer, and therefore, the conclusion is the same for
each officer,†the report said.
“While it is true that Mr. Soto did not possess a
firearm at the time of the shooting, and his mother had informed
law enforcement personnel that he did not possess a firearm, there
was an enormous amount of evidence to support the four officers’
reasonable beliefs that Mr. Soto was about to use deadly physical
force upon one of the officers, their colleagues, or a civilian in
the area.â€
Of course, the ACLU, which never met a criminal it didn’t
defend condemned the result of Gedansky’s investigation.
In a statement from ACU of Connecticut Executive Director David
McGuire, he said:
“Jose Soto should still be alive today. Once again,
the state has failed to hold police accountable for the killing of
a Latino man. In this report, Jose Soto’s mother stated to state
police investigators that she told police at the time that her son
was unarmed, and that she begged them not to kill him,†McGuire
wrote.
“When someone is suicidal, they need help, not SWAT
teams that show up armed to the teeth and then kill them. Ending
police violence requires more work from policymakers at every
level, including but not limited to changing the use of force
standard and instituting a truly independent inspector
general.
The report noted that while Soto had agreed to come out of the
house peacefully, and CREST members had that communicated to them,
he came out, according to multiple team members “aggressivelyâ€
and did not have his hands over his head as he had been
instructed.
“Instead, Mr. Soto brought his hands from his sides,
‘punching’ his hands together in a firing position, while
holding a black object, as if he was shooting a handgun at the
police on scene,†Gedansky wrote.
The version of events told by police officers was backed up by
three paramedics who were present on scene. They said that Soto had
exited the home in what they described as an “aggressive
manner†and also was holding something and “in a shooting
position, pointed at the police officers. All three indicated that
they thought Mr. Soto was firing a handgun at the officers.â€
After being shot, Soto fell onto the porch, instructed to show
his hands, but did not. A police K9 was used to check on Soto “to
see if he was still a threat,†Soto was brought to the rear of
one of the CREST vehicles, where he was treated by paramedics. He
was transported to Hartford Hospital where he succumbed to his
wounds. An autopsy showed he had been shot four times.
So, an investigation…a REAL investigation has shown that
police were justified in using deadly physical force on Mr. Soto.
Was this tragic in that he was found to have been unarmed?
Of course. However, were the four CREST officers justified under
deadly physical force statutes, court cases, department policies
and their training justified in using deadly physical force? The
answer is yes.
Back in June,
Law Enforcement Today reported on the woke, Manchester
Democratic Party issuing a press release in which they took their
CALEA and Connecticut accredited police department and threw it
under the bus. Why? Because that is what Democrats do. Wait for an
investigation? Hell no! We’re Democrats and we love to
pander.
What was the topic of their press release? Well, it started out
speaking ostensibly about the George Floyd incident in Minneapolis.
However, it quickly digressed and spoke to the incident involving
Jose Soto. Here is what they said:
“Manchester is not, and has not been, immune to violent and
fatal encounters between law enforcement and residents of color. An
officer-involved shooting here, on April 2, 2020 resulted in the
death of our fellow resident, Jose Soto.
This tragic loss of life occurred on a cold and rainy evening in
the early days of the COVID-19 shutdown, amid the anxiety of this
slow-moving, ongoing crisis.
And against this backdrop of so much uncertainty, we recognize
that for many, the terror associated with police
interaction is a certainty. Whether in manifests as an
elevated heart rate when a squad car passes by, or
a bead of sweat that forms on your lip as an officer walks
toward you on the street, the horror is
real, and it is palpable.
We’d also like to remind you that one of the Democrats who
signed the letter is Manchester Mayor Jay Moran. The letter sent by
Moran and Manchester Democrats seems to indicate the belief that
the Manchester Police Department and its hard-working officers do
not support (or respect) the minority community in that town.
So, imagine our surprise and dismay when back in May, the town
was holding a mask handout at the Bennett Academy, which is in a
primarily minority and subsidized housing area of Manchester.
Mayor Moran, showing total respect for the minority community,
and at an event where there were also children attending, allegedly
couldn’t make it to the restroom and decided to urinate on the
side of the school building.
Once Law Enforcement Today went public with Moran’s apparent
egregious disrespect for Manchester residents and the Bennett
Academy community, he claimed that he was “looking at his
cellphone.†Look at the picture…have you ever looked at your
cellphone like THAT?
After the photo went public, multiple sources told us that the
chief of police was pressured to report to local media outlets that
there was “no evidence of wrongdoing†by Moran. We have also
been told that Moran and the Manchester Democrats were seething
about the photo being leaked, and there would “be hell to payâ€
for that occurring.
So, considering the investigation by the Tolland State’s
Attorneys Office, when exactly will Manchester Democrats be issuing
an apology to their police department, for insinuating that somehow
the shooting of Mr. Soto was racially motivated?
When are they going to apologize for saying pretty clearly that
Manchester residents of color should walk in fear of their
nationally accredited police department? That the “horror is
real†when Manchester residents have a police officer approaching
on the street? When will Moran apologize for urinating on a
school?
That’s okay, we won’t hold our breath. Except, perhaps,
when near the mayor, should we happen to see him standing against a
building “checking his cell phoneâ€.
—
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Despite a police-bashing mayor attacking the SWAT team, every
officer was just cleared in the shooting death of a criminal
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