Dashcam Video Records Shooting That Injured a New Haven Police Officer

Caught on dashcam video, a New Haven police officer was shot by a man, and ultimately returned fire, while responding to a car crash.

The suspected shooter is in custody, and the New Haven police chief is calling the injured officer “courageous."

In a video released by the Connecticut Inspector General, Officer Chad Curry is attempting to apprehend a man in an orange shirt early Friday morning. Police said he was running away from the scene of a car crash.

As Curry approaches the suspect, the man begins shooting. The officer then gets out of his cruiser and exchanges fire with the man, later identified as 36-year-old Jose Claudio.

The officer was hit in the ear and shoulder, but wasn’t seriously hurt.

“[He] put himself at risk significantly in order to protect himself and the community,” New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said.

Curry was taken to the hospital and then released. New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson said the officer was doing well and in good spirits.

“He’s a strong kid. He made jokes. He thanks his fellow workers. It was a really good interaction,” Jacobson said.

Claudio's arrest was caught exclusively by NBC Connecticut cameras as he was taken into custody on Putnam Street.

Police said Claudio had a domestic violence warrant with court records showing he previously served time in jail on a drug charge. Witnesses to the initial car crash tried to keep him at the scene.

“We never thought he was carrying a weapon. We tried to stop him so police can talk to him,” Ezequiel Malpica, of New Haven, said.

Jacobson believed Curry’s actions were exemplary.

“It’s truly, and I have a hard time talking about it, a proud moment. That officer acted with courage and immediately acted in the way he needed to act,” he said.

Claudio faces numerous charges including, assault in the first degree on a police officer and reckless endangerment. He will be in court on Tuesday and remains in prison on $1 million bond.