The state's attorney for Stamford/Norwalk has ruled that a state trooper who shot and killed a man on a tour bus headed to a Connecticut casino was justified in his use of deadly force.
State's Attorney Richard J. Colangelo Jr. said that the Division of Criminal Justice won't be taking any further action against Trooper Marc Omara, who shot and killed Hua Jian Le, 32, of Chinatown while responding to an assault on a Dahlia bus headed from New York City's Chinatown to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut on Oct. 14.
Ye, who was traveling alone on the bus and was unknown to the driver or other 19 passengers, began pacing in the aisle and lighting up his cell phone to look at the other passengers, Colangelo Jr. said. When passengers expressed displeasure with what he was doing, he pulled out a box cutter, Colangelo said.
He slashed passenger Meici Chan in the face and she screamed so another passenger, Randy Chan, came to her aid, Colangelo Jr. said. Chan told investigators he pulled him him to the front of the bus trying to restrain him and stop him as Ye continued to struggle.
Several passengers called 911 for help, but dispatchers receiving the calls at Troop G had trouble understanding a lot of the passengers, who only spoke Chinese, according to the state's attorney's office. Before police could arrive, the bus pulled into a construction zone near exit 14 off I-95 northbound and hailed Trooper Omara, who was working at the site, according to police.
When the bus pulled over, passenger Nikorn Chinakul got out and went up to Omara to report the assault to him, the state's attorney said. He was speaking in English, but was "very excited" so he had difficulty communicating with Omara about what was going on, according to the state's attorney's office. Then Omara realized a man was attacking a woman with what looked to be a knife and radioed the information in to Troop G, the state's attorney's office said. More police and troopers were then dispatched to the area.
As Omara approached the bus, the driver told him to get out his weapon because Ye had a knife, the state's attorney's office said.
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Ye and Chan fell from the bus when the driver opened the door for Omara, landing on the pavement as they fought, police said. Omara ordered Ye to drop his weapon as he attempted to stab Chan with the box cutter, but he refused to listen, so Omara fired his gun, the state's attorney's office said. One of the first bullets hit Chan in the right leg by accident and another may have hit Ye, the state's attorney said.
Both Chan and Ye fell and Chan rolled to get away from Ye in the direction of the bus, the state's attorney said. Omara repeatedly yelled for Ye to drop the box cutter, but he got up and lunged at Omara with the weapon, the state's attorney's office said. So, Omara opened fire, causing Ye to fall, though he still wouldn't drop the box cutter, according the state's attorney. After using up all nine rounds of ammunition, he reloaded it with a magazine of eight, firing twice more and shooting Ye, the state's attorney's office.
Ye fell to the ground "and began to scrape at his own eyes with the box cutter," Colangelo Jr. said. Omara called for backup. Trooper John Acampora and Omara provided cover as Norwalk Police Officer Ramon Tejada handcuffed Ye as he continued to put up a struggle, according to Colangelo Jr.
He fired his gun 11 times "to defend himself and Chan from the use or imminent use of deadly physical force," Colangelo Jr. said. A bullet struck Chan in the leg in the incident and Ye was shot six times in the right arm and torso, according to the state's attorney.
Ye and the injured passenger received medical aid at the scene and were rushed to the hospital, where Ye died, according to police. Police said Omara was not injured but was taken to the hospital for an evaluation.
The Office of the Chief State's Medical Examiner in Farmington examined the body, noting he suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the left chest, left flank, right "subclavian region" and right "epigastric region," as well as "superficial cuts over both eyelids," according to the state's attorney. Two gunshots went through his right arm and "re-entered the right chest area," another bullet went through his right forearm and "exited the right wrist and possibly re-entered at one of the other above-mentioned gunshot wounds," according to the state's attorney.
The medical examiner ruled his cause of death to be a "gunshot wound of trunk and extremities" and the manner of death to be a homicide and that he was shot by police, according to the state's attorney.
Ye didn't have any drugs in his system at the time of the incident, but his blood alcohol level was elevated to 0.14 percent, Colangelo Jr. said. Ye didn't have any pre-existing medical or psychological conditions on record, he said. But Ye may have only spoken Chinese and may not have understood Omara's commands, Colangelo Jr. said.
The Central District Major Crime Squad also seized 60 pieces of evidence, including Omara's police weapon, 11 shell casings and six projectiles from the scene and four in Ye, according to the state's attorney's office.
Witnesses were driven from the scene in buses to be interviewed by police.
The State Police Major Crime Squad investigated.
Omara, a 10-year veteran of the state police assigned to Troop A in Southbury, assumed administrative duties throughout the investigation, per department policy.
In a statement to investigators, Omara said, "he felt in a matter of seconds, the aggression and level of violence displayed by the smaller man (suspect Ye) as he pursued the other man made it clear to him that he was going to kill him (the larger man)," so he first fired in Ye's direction. He also said he fired at him again because before he had time to reassess the incident, "the man quickly got to his feet and turned towards him with the knife still in his left hand. The man started towards him and began to close what he estimated to be 12-15 feet between them. He again yelled as loud as he could and ordered the man to drop the knife, however the man still ignored him.” Omara fired his gun again because "at no time did the man de-escalate his violently, aggressive behavior."
One driver told investigators he heard "several loud pops which sounded like gun shots" as he drove on I-95 north and pulled into the closed left lane, the state's attorney's office said. As he got out of his car, he heard more gunshots and saw Omara fire at Ye when he lunged at him and then continue to point his weapon at him as officers ordered for him to drop his weapon, according to the state's attorney. He also saw a Norwalk officer restrain the man and kick a knife out of his hands and then handcuff him, the state's attorney's office said.
I-95 northbound was shut down throughout that night between exits 13 and 15 but reopened at about 5:30 a.m. the next day.
State law permits law enforcement "to use deadly physical force upon another person when he reasonably believes such to be necessary to defend himself or a third person from the use or imminent use of deadly physical force."
Colangelo Jr. concluded that "Trooper Marc Omara believed the use of deadly physical force was necessary to defend himself and the civilians present from the imminent use of deadly physical force. It is further concluded that his belief was objectively reasonable."
"Therefore, I have determined that Trooper Marc Omara was justified in his use of deadly physical force upon Hua Jian Ye, and that such force was appropriate under section 53a-22(c) of the General Statutes," Colangelo Jr. said. "Accordingly, no further action will be taken by the Division of Criminal Justice."
It's unclear when Omara will return to his regular state police duty.
