Footage released from the Connecticut Office of Inspector General shows the moments a suspect fleeing from Manchester police on Interstate 84 pointed a firearm out the window and fired multiple rounds at officers, leading to an officer returning fire and shooting the man.
One of the two portions of video released Monday show a man identified by authorities as 39-year-old Samuel Lee aiming a handgun outside his driver’s side window and firing what appears to be about five rounds toward police cruisers pursuing him on I-84 West in East Hartford in the early morning hours on Saturday.
The video is taken from the dashboard camera of Manchester Police Sgt. Kyle Zemanek’s cruiser, which he positioned on the left side of the highway while at least two more cruisers followed behind Lee. The shots that were fired appeared to strike a cruiser being driven by Manchester Officer Kyle Busse, his body camera shows.
A police officer fired about nine rounds toward a fleeing suspect who had shot at police during a pursuit on Interstate 84 in East Hartford. (Courtesy of the Connecticut Inspector General)
Moments after someone can be heard calling out “shots fired, shots fired,” Busse can be seen drawing his firearm, pointing it out the driver’s side window and firing about nine shots, his footage shows. According to Inspector General Eliot Prescott, one of the shots struck Lee’s right hip, which was described as a non-life-threatening injury.
Prescott’s preliminary investigation into the shooting found that Officer Israel Rivera pulled Lee over in a Lexus sedan at 1:42 a.m. at 335 Center St. in Manchester for an alleged misused license plate. Rivera briefly spoke to Lee before he allegedly sped away and nearly hit the cruiser of an officer who arrived as backup, Prescott said.
Several officers pursued Lee, who allegedly went as fast as 70 mph to elude authorities, Prescott said. Zemanek, who had positioned himself near the I-84 West on-ramp on West Middle Turnpike, deployed stop sticks as Lee drove up the ramp, according to Prescott.
Authorities reportedly found a firearm in the vehicle driven by a suspect in a police pursuit that led to an officer-involved shooting. (Courtesy of the Connecticut Inspector General)
Police transmissions overheard on the footage released from the pursuit indicate officers believe three of Lee’s tires were popped.
The exchange of gunfire, which reportedly struck at least one cruiser, occurred as Lee was driving on the right side of the highway where officers had pursued him into East Hartford, Prescott said. Following the gunfire, Lee’s vehicle slowed down and eventually stopped on the left side of the highway near a jersey barrier just past the Forbes Street overpass, according to Prescott.
Prescott said Lee surrendered to police and was given medical attention at the scene before being taken to Hartford Hospital. Police allegedly found a firearm on the driver’s side floor of the Lexus, which can be seen in an image still which Prescott released and said was taken from an officer’s body camera.
According to Prescott, Lee was last known to be living in Manchester and was found to have six warrants from multiple jurisdictions out for his arrest. As of Monday, he remained in the hospital, Prescott said.
Police have obtained an arrest warrant charging Lee in the pursuit, Prescott said. The warrant, approved by the Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office, charges him with multiple felonies, including attempted first-degree assault, Prescott said.
The officer-involved shooting remains under investigation by Prescott’s office with assistance from the Manchester Police Department, Hartford Judicial District State’s Attorney’s Office and the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad.
