The Office of the Inspector General has released the identity of the man who was shot and killed by a Prospect police officer Friday.
Two officers responded to a home on Merriman Lane just before 5 p.m. Friday for a report of a possible disturbance, accoriding to a preliminary report released by the Inspector General. Officers David Terni and Jonathan Slavin spoke with a neighbor who told them he heard suspicious noises coming from the house.
Video from a body camera warn by Officer Terni released Tuesday shows the events unfold.
As Officer Terni approached the front of the house, he noticed a front window had been dislodged. A woman inside the home told the officer "Mike did it," referring to the window.
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According to the Inspector General, a man in the house, identified as 48-year-old Michael Strenk, opened a kitchen drawer and grabbed a knife. Officer Terni ordered Strenk to drop the knife, but he threw the knife through the open window towards the officer, the report states.
Strenk then ran at Officer Terni with another knife in his right hand, according to the Inspector General. It is at that point Officer Terni fired two shots, killing Strenk.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined Strenk's death was caused by a gunshot wound to the head and his death was ruled a homicide.
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NBC Connecticut briefly spoke with Strenk's father Tuesday afternoon. He said the family is coping the best they can.
This was the third fatal police shooting in Connecticut within a week. A man was shot and killed by a Wallingford police officer early morning on Monday, Oct. 16. A Hartford police officer shot and killed a man later on that Monday.
All three shootings are being investigated by the Office of the Inspector General.
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