[v1r]

"A Connecticut State Police trooper used a Taser, while another fired his handgun, at a local man after repeatedly telling him to put down a knife, according to body cam footage released Thursday by the state Office of Inspector General.

The man, identified as 59-year-old B.H., was flown to UMass Hospital in Worcester, Mass., where he remains in treatment, the inspector general's office said.

Harvey was listed in critical condition by the hospital Wednesday, but they could not provide an update Thursday.

The inspector general released footage of the incident Thursday. The three-minute video, captured on Trooper Romello Lumpkin’s body-worn camera, shows troopers in the kitchen of an apartment, talking to B.H. while he sat in a chair about 15 feet away with a knife.

At the end of the video, Lumpkin, could be seen firing a single shot at B.H..

Lumpkin has been placed on paid administrative duty while the inspector general conducts the investigation, state police said. Lumpkin graduated the State Police Training Academy in August 2021 and is assigned to Troop D in Danielson.

This is not the first time Lumpkin has been investigated while on the force.

As a trooper trainee, state police suspended Lumpkin after they determined he violated the agency's code of conduct when he walked out of a Newington gun shop with a $54 handgun magazine without paying for it in September 2021. Though the store's owner decided not to press charges, they requested Lumpkin be banned from the premises. State police determined in their investigation that there was enough evidence to show Lumpkin committed a misdemeanor larceny."

[kellyhound]

another dumbass that can't follow a simple order down

[Hogmann]

Seems like a little miscommunication about whether they're going to taser him or shoot him.

[Hogmann]

I think it's really ironic that in the effort to make police less brutal the ACLU has taken things like nightsticks and billy clubs away from police and left them with only tasers and guns. When I was younger confrontation with the police never meant guns were involved but probably meant you were going to get hit with a club. Yeah people got bruised and hurt but rarely did they die, look at Rodney King. He got the shit beat out of them but he lived. Not justifying in any way what happened to him but he lived he didn't get shot because the police had billy clubs. Now the police only option is to shoot you. Yeah they have tasers but a taser is a single use device that doesn't always work the first time and once you commit to using the taser you've got no other weapon in your hand.

[deadhorsey]

Originally Posted by Hogmann ↗

I think it's really ironic that in the effort to make police less brutal the ACLU has taken things like nightsticks and billy clubs away from police and left them with only tasers and guns. When I was younger confrontation with the police never meant guns were involved but probably meant you were going to get hit with a club. Yeah people got bruised and hurt but rarely did they die, look at Rodney King. He got the shit beat out of them but he lived. Not justifying in any way what happened to him but he lived he didn't get shot because the police had billy clubs. Now the police only option is to shoot you. Yeah they have tasers but a taser is a single use device that doesn't always work the first time and once you commit to using the taser you've got no other weapon in your hand.

That’s not accurate.

You may not see it, but batons are still there. They’re collapsible these days, making them far more compact. Generally you don’t see them unless the officer deploys/expands that baton.

Additionally most LE has pepper spray (aka: mace)

How these are deployed in response to situations is a shitty choice if one has to make it fast. Training, training, training!

Perp here had a deadly weapon and was advancing- definitely deserved the Darwin Award.

Did the cops use minimum force necessary? That’s a different & important question.

[Hogmann]

Originally Posted by deadhorsey ↗

That’s not accurate.

You may not see it, but batons are still there. They’re collapsible these days, making them far more compact. Generally you don’t see them unless the officer deploys/expands that baton.

Additionally most LE has pepper spray (aka: mace)

How these are deployed in response to situations is a shitty choice if one has to make it fast. Training, training, training!

Perp here had a deadly weapon and was advancing- definitely deserved the Darwin Award.

Did the cops use minimum force necessary? That’s a different & important question.

Yeah you're right many departments still carry a collapsible baton but that tool is only similar to the solid batons of old in that they're striking weapons but they're far less effective.
And pepper spray, while it looks good on paper it's just as likely to incapacitate the officer as it is the suspect in a confined environment.
My comment was not to say that one thing is better than the other just that sometimes policy changes don't have the intended outcome.
It's funny you say minimum force necessary. What exactly does that mean? Advancing on the suspect early with the Baton might have brought a different results to the situation then letting it drag out and having the suspect wind himself up mentally to the point where they felt trapped and chose to advance on the police officers themselves leaving the police with few options.
I wouldn't want to be in these officers situation at all. And with the guy advancing on them with a knife I can't really fault them for what they did. The most confusing part of the situation was that the two officers seemed a little unaware of what the other was doing with one deploying a taser and one firing his gun at the same time. It's the lack of communication and awareness that I find the most problematic

[deadhorsey]

Minimum Force would be the subject of what several attorneys will surely argue!

Would a reasonable person feel the idiot with a knife & approaching with intent to cause deadly force needed to be shot?

From the little I see, the perp is focused on one of the cops- hard to tell which one. I believe perpy was intending to cause harm but was slow as fuck too!

I probably would not of shot him. Let that old fuck try and stab me, get a few scratches in, and I’ve got an extended paid vacation instead of an extended court case.

40 or 50 years ago blowing him away would of been acceptable, and that’s absolutely fucked.

This situation absolutely warrants attention, in the least.

[houseoftechno]

All the build-up as the man got up his nerve. Then stood, walked forward and raised his knife like a zombie. Clearly he decided suicide by cop.

The cop was right to shoot him, but in hindsight, the one with the taser should have fired as soon as the man stood up (holding knife). Can't be perfect all the time, and the old man called the shots.