A driver who fled from a vehicle stop in Bridgeport has died after a shooting involving a police officer in Ansonia on Sunday, according to police.
Officers with Bridgeport police were investigating weapons and narcotics violations on Oak Street in Bridgeport.
During the investigation, police said the officers tried to conduct a felony vehicle stop around 5:10 p.m.
Authorities said the driver fled from officers, went north on Route 8 and kept going through several towns before stopping about 14 miles away in the 200 block of Division Street in Ansonia.
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According to police, the officer-involved shooting happened on Division Street in Ansonia. Investigators have not released any other details about the shooting.
The driver was taken to Griffin Hospital where he was pronounced dead. His identity has not been released.
Local
While police have not released the name of the person who was shot and killed, Barbara Mankewich said the man was her son, 41-year-old Jonathan Bell.
“A phone call was definitely going to come. Always. I knew that,” she said.
That call came on Sunday night, she said.
“They didn’t tell me anything, just that there was a police chase and it ended in Ansonia and he got out of the car and shot, so they fired back,” Mankewich said.
She said drugs took her son.
“I mean, that’s what took him really, not the police. The police were doing their job,” she said.
Mankewich said she hadn’t spoken with her son in over a year because of his lifestyle.
“I’m just sorry that it had to end this way, but you know what, he’s in a better place. He’s not suffering anymore with needing drugs or needing everything. Our family can now rest in peace not worrying about him every day,” she said.
An investigation is being conducted by the Office of the Inspector General, Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad and the Ansonia/Milford Judicial District State's Attorney's Office.
In following department protocol, the Bridgeport police officer(s) involved in the incident will be assigned out of the chief's office on modified duty until the Office of the Inspector General makes a determination.
