The Office of Inspector General is investigating after a state trooper shot a man in Bolton on Friday afternoon and has released additional information about the shooting.
State troopers responded to a home on Meadow Road in Bolton around 2:15 p.m. after receiving a report that 29-year-old Maxim Nowak was experiencing a mental health crisis, according to the report from the Office of Inspector General.
Nowak’s family said that he was threatening to harm himself and others and was waving a knife, the Office of Inspector General said.
State troopers Wendy Garcia-Campos, Doug Bernier and Brian Contenta responded to the residence and found Nowak in the hallway, holding two knives, the Office of Inspector General said.
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The troopers made several efforts to convince Nowak to drop the knives, but he refused, according to the Office of Inspector General.
When Nowak raised the knife in his left hand, Bernier used his Taser and Contenta fired his firearm multiple times, striking Nowak.
State troopers and EMS treated Nowak at the scene and he was transported to Hartford Hospital, where he is being treated.
The Office of Inspector General has released video from Contenta’s body-worn camera.
The investigation by the Office of Inspector General, the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad, and the Tolland Judicial District State’s Attorney’s Office is continuing.
Retired FBI special agent Kenneth Gray, a lecturer at the University of New Haven, said after watching the video, he sees the trooper making a split-second decision.
“He felt either he was threatened, or he felt that one of the other troopers were threatened at risk of death or grievous bodily harm,” he said.
Gray said a person with a knife creates factors troopers have to take into account.
“You don't want to get too close when the person has a knife, because a person with a knife can get on to you very quickly before you can get a shot off,” he said.
He said in this specific case, it’s clear the trooper tried to use their relationship with Nowak to convince them to surrender.
“Having prior contacts with the person can act to your advantage, but not necessarily. It depends on what the result was from prior contacts with that person,” Gray said.
He said the release of the bodycam footage allows for a level of public transparency.
“There is confidence that the state police are playing square with the public, showing the incident whether it's good or bad,” Gray said.
