Manchester police have arrested the man who allegedly fired multiple shots at officers who were pursuing him on Interstate 84 in East Hartford over the weekend before police returned fire and shot him.
Samuel Lee, 40, was charged in the hospital after police obtained a warrant for his arrest, according to Lt. Nicholas Reinert of the Manchester Police Department.
He faces charges of criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault, assault on public safety personnel, criminal possession of a firearm, unlawful discharge of a firearm, interfering with an officer, operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license, reckless driving and improper use of a marker plate.
Lee is being held on a $1 million bond and is in the custody of the Department of Correction while he remains hospitalized, Reinert said late Tuesday. He is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on Nov. 12.
Video shows CT man shooting at officers during pursuit on I-84 before police return fire
Reinert said Lee also had six warrants out for his arrest on failure to appear in court charges in connection with pending cases. According to court records, the arrests stemmed from incidents in Manchester and are pending in superior courts in Manchester, Hartford and New Britain. The underlying charges include those of assault on a public safety officer, interfering with police and threatening, among others, court records show.
Police have identified Lee as the man who took off from a traffic stop on Saturday at 1:42 a.m. at 335 Center St. in Manchester, where an officer said he had the wrong license plate on a Lexus sedan. After speaking briefly with an officer, Lee allegedly sped off and nearly hit another officer’s cruiser who arrived as backup, according to a preliminary report released by Connecticut Inspector General Eliot Prescott.
Prescott alleged that Lee hit speeds as fast as 70 mph as he fled from pursuing officers. A police sergeant positioned at the I-84 West on-ramp on West Middle Turnpike was able to deploy stop sticks as Lee drove up the ramp, deflating several of his tires, according to Prescott.
Manchester officer shoots suspect who allegedly opened fire at police during I-84 pursuit
As the pursuit continued onto the highway and into East Hartford, video released from police body and dashboard cameras showed an individual — identified by police as Lee — point a gun out the driver’s side window and fire about five rounds toward pursuing officers. The shots that were fired appeared to strike a cruiser being driven by Manchester Officer Kyle Busse, his body camera shows.
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, the footage shows. According to Prescott, one of the shots struck Lee’s right hip, which was described as a non-life-threatening injury.
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 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 a still image Prescott released.
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.
