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Yale Officer Involved in Police-Involved Shooting in New Haven Was Injured: Police

Police officers from Hamden and Yale opened fire on a man and woman inside of a car Tuesday morning on Argyle Street in New Haven. State police said no weapon was found in the car.

A Yale police officer who was involved in a shooting in New Haven that injured a 22-year-old woman early Tuesday morning was also injured during the incident, according to state police.

Police have identified the officers involved in the shooting as Yale police officer Terrance Pollock, a 16-year veteran of the department, and Hamden police officer Devin Eaton, who has been in law enforcement for more than four years, including nearly three years with Hamden police.

The injury Pollock sustained was not life-threatening and he was released after being treated at a hospital, according to state police. The cause of the injury is not clear.

Pollock and Eaton were both been placed on leave from their departments amid an investigation into the shooting. No New Haven police officers were involved in the incident.

According to New Haven police, the shooting happened after Hamden police received a 911 call at 4:19 a.m. Tuesday about the attempted armed robbery of a newspaper delivery person at the Gas and Go gas station at 144 Arch St. in Hamden.

Eaton and Pollock located a vehicle at Dixwell Avenue and Argyle Street. According to state police, "the suspected party exited the vehicle in an abrupt manner and turned toward officers." Both officers opened fire on a man and woman inside the car.

Surveillance video that apparently captured the incident does not show those movements. Witnesses said they saw police ordering both the man and woman to get out after they stopped shooting. State police said no weapon was found in the car.

Since the shooting, protesters have been putting pressure on city leaders to release body camera footage of the shooting.

Officials called what happened "unacceptable" and are trying to reassure the community that Connecticut State Police are doing a thorough investigation.

"We're all angry. And I can't ask you to believe it, that we're going to do the right thing ... I ask one thing: I ask you to believe in the actions that are taken," said Hamden Mayor Curt Leng.

Yale President Peter Salovey released a statement on the university website about the officer-involved shooting.

“I write this evening to assure you that Yale will cooperate fully in the investigation that the Connecticut State Police and the State’s Attorney’s Office are conducting; when they have finished, and we can have access to the evidence, we will also conduct our own investigation into this matter. As the primary investigation proceeds, we will share whatever information we can as quickly as we can about the circumstances of the shooting,” Salovey wrote in a statement posted on Yale’s website Wednesday.

"It is vitally important that we refrain from making assumptions about the circumstances of the shooting: the facts of this case will be made clear through the investigation," Salovey wrote in a statement online.

Officials stress that State Police are continuing their investigation and that the state's attorney's office has made it a top priority. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact State Police. 

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