Connecticut trooper charged with manslaughter in shooting

A Connecticut state trooper has been charged with manslaughter in the 2020 fatal shooting of a man

Police Shooting Connecticut (Connecticut State Police)

A Connecticut state trooper who fired seven gunshots into a car and killed a man in 2020 after a high-speed chase has been charged with manslaughter after a more than two-year investigation found the shooting not to be justified, officials said Wednesday.

Trooper Brian North turned himself in to the state inspector general at the state police barracks in Bethany on Tuesday evening, state police said. Officials said North was released after posting $50,000 bail, was placed on paid administrative leave and his police powers were suspended.

North fatally shot Mubarak Soulemane in January 2020 as Soulemane sat in the driver's seat of a car in West Haven, where the chase ended and police boxed in the car.

Soulemane’s family, the NAACP and other groups said North, who is white, should not have shot Soulemane, who was Black, because police had him surrounded and he could not get away. Soulemane had a knife, but police should have attempted to deescalate the situation, they said.

"The family of Mubarak Soulemane is very happy that, after 2+ years, Trooper Brian North, who murdered Mubarak in West Haven in January 2020, may be brought to justice," Mark Arons, a lawyer for Soulemane's family, said in a statement. "It’s a long road ahead. But this is a good day.”

North did not return an email seeking comment, and a message was left at a phone listing for him. A message also was sent to his lawyer, Jeffrey Ment. North is scheduled to be arraigned in Milford Superior Court on May 3.

In a report released Wednesday morning, Inspector General Robert Devlin’s office said the shooting was not justified.

“At the time Trooper North fired his weapon, neither he nor any other person was in imminent danger of serious injury or death from a knife attack at the hands of Soulemane,” the report said. “Further, any belief that persons were in such danger was not reasonable.”

The report also includes a lengthy statement by North on the shooting. He said Soulemane was “holding the knife in an aggressive manner” and appeared to be preparing to attack other officers who were outside the car.

“Based on these circumstances, I believed that (the other officers) were at imminent risk of serious physical injury or death, and could have been stabbed in the neck or face as they attempted to enter the vehicle and remove the suspect. As a result, I discharged my duty firearm to eliminate the threat.”

The Connecticut State Police Union said in a statement that it was disappointed the inspector general's office, which investigates police use of deadly force, decided to prosecute North. The union defended North's actions.

The union said North “was forced to make a split-second decision during these dangerous and rapidly evolving circumstances. Trooper North was risking his own life while trying to fulfill his oath of office to protect the lives of others.”

State police said Soulemane carjacked a vehicle in Norwalk on Jan. 15, 2020, before leading troopers on a chase reaching speeds over over 90 mph (145 kph) on Interstate 95 into West Haven. Officials said Soulemane struck two state police cruisers and a civilian’s vehicle before troopers stopped his vehicle by boxing it in. West Haven police also responded to the scene.

State police body camera videos show a West Haven officer smashing out the passenger door window of the stolen car before another trooper shoots Soulemane with a stun gun, which didn’t work.

North then fired his handgun seven times through the driver’s door window when Soulemane displayed the knife, state police said.

Soulemane’s family has said he was a community college student who had schizophrenia. Devlin's report said Soulemane's mental health appeared to have deteriorated in the days before he was killed, according to family and friends.

The NAACP and other groups have protested the shooting. At a memorial service for Soulemane days after his death, the Rev. Al Sharpton said something about the killing didn’t “smell right” and he vowed to fight for answers for the family.