Attorney Charged in Shooting Death of Man Outside Litchfield Law Office: Police

A 75-year-old attorney from Goshen is accused of shooting and killing a man outside his Litchfield law office in June 2021 and has been charged with manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm, according to state police.

Robert Fisher Jr., 75, of Goshen, is accused of shooting and killing 39-year-old Matthew Bromley outside the Cramer & Anderson law office on West Street after an altercation on the evening of Monday, June 7.

Bromley was not a client of the firm but might have called the month before about a foreclosure case, according to the arrest warrant application state police released.

State police said a 911 call was made at 4:48 p.m. that June evening reporting that a man was shot in a parking lot at 46 West St. in Litchfield and was on the ground, bleeding.

Fisher called moments later, at 4:49 p.m., and reported that he had shot a man who had assaulted him, according to the arrest warrant. 

Fisher, who police said is a certified pistol instructor, told police he shot the other man in the head, according to the arrest warrant application.

He said that it all happened very fast.

He was at his office when another man followed him into the driveway, opened his car door, hit him and punched him in the face, and told Fisher he was going to kill him and he was going to “burn in hell,” according to police documents.

One witness reported hearing Bromley say something like, “you cut me off,” to Fisher and the two were arguing.

Fisher requested a lawyer but told police it was not a “road rage” situation, according to the police.

He told investigators that the other man had followed him closely from Constitution Way in Litchfield to the parking lot, adding that the man got in his face and he had not seen him before.

“We believe the physical evidence is consistent with my client’s innocence," Fisher's lawyer Attorney Bill Conti said in a statement.

The statement Fisher provided to police said Bromley spit in his face and charged at him and Fisher realized that the man wasn’t going to stop attacking him.

Fisher reported trying to defuse the situation and said he took his gun out of his pocket, pointed it at the other man, turned on the laser dot and shouted for him to “back off,” according to the arrest warrant application. Then Bromley charged him again and Fisher said he shot after a brief struggle.

The law firm where Fisher worked, Cramer & Anderson LLP, has issued a statement in regard to the incident:

"We at Cramer & Anderson LLP have been saddened by this state of affairs from its beginning nearly one year ago. We believe the case will proceed through the judicial system fairly and that justice will ultimately be served."

Another witness reported she saw Fisher pointing a gun at Bromley and walking toward him as Bromley walked backward. She went on to tell police she did not see a struggle.

In a follow-up interview, one witness said Bromley stopped punching Fisher while he was in the driver seat and there was no fighting after Fisher got out of the vehicle, according to the arrest warrant application.

As Bromley was walking away, Fisher got out of the car, holding a gun by his side, and both men were facing each other. Fisher was pointing a gun at Bromley and the men were yelling and arguing with each other just before the shooting, the witness told police.

A friend and co-worker of Fisher’s told police that Bromley was not a client. But, after his name was released on the news, the coworker recalled seeing Bromley’s name on caller identification the last week of May 2021 and the call was transferred to the Litchfield office.

Fisher was at lunch, but the co-worker asked him if he could take the call and Fisher agreed, the statement says.

The witnesses reported overhearing Fisher explaining that he does not do foreclosure cases

“Apparently Bromley was trying to purchase his mother’s home that was in foreclosure,” the statement says.

The witness went on to tell police that Fisher elevated his voice and explained that he does not do foreclosures, wished Bromley good luck in finding an attorney, then the call ended. They never spoke of the call again after that day and the co-worker did not recall Bromley calling again, the statement says.

The office of the medical examiner determined Bromley died of a gunshot wound to the head and ruled his death a homicide. Police said the toxicology for Bromley showed an ethyl alcohol level of .111 percent.

Fisher turned himself in on Wednesday and bond was set at $50,000. He is due in court on May 23.

His attorney said they "believe the physical evidence is consistent with my client’s innocence.”