Bridgeport police shoot man brandishing knife; inspector general investigating

Officers first responded to the 200 block of Birdseye Street after 911 calls came in reporting a suspicious man with a knife, according to Capt. Kevin Gilleran.

Marissa Alter

May 16, 2024, 5:16 PM

Updated 211 days ago

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There was no need for an alarm clock Thursday morning for at least one person living around Birdseye Street in Bridgeport.
“I woke up to what I thought was banging on the front door,” said a man, who asked not to be identified.
He later learned what he heard were gunshots fired by Bridgeport police. Officers first responded to the 200 block of Birdseye Street after 911 calls came in reporting a suspicious man with a knife, according to Capt. Kevin Gilleran. When police arrived, they found him in the road—an encounter that ended in an officer-involved shooting.
The man News 12 spoke with didn't know that when he opened his door.
“I'd come outside and saw there were police cars out. I noticed that there was a gentleman laying in the road. I figured maybe it's a hit-and-run, and they did knock. Maybe they want help identifying a vehicle of some sort,” he said.
The man explained he checked his security camera footage, and that's when he realized the incident wasn't a crash. He shared that video with News 12, which appears to show a person running at police when he’s shot.
“What had happened was the gentleman had lunged towards the cops,” the man explained. “And at that point, I understood the cops did what they had to do, and he was on the floor for a reason.”
That person went to the hospital where he's listed as stable, according to Gilleran. He couldn’t disclose how many times the person was shot or if more than one officer fired. The shooting is under investigation by the Office of the Inspector General, Connecticut State Police and the Bridgeport State's Attorney's Office. The OIG has four days to issue a preliminary report and release any police body camera footage.
“I don't like to see anybody hurt. It's a sad situation, but I'm glad the cops were here,” the man stated.
Gilleran said per department protocol, any officer involved will be on modified duty until the OIG makes a determination on whether the shooting was justified.