A man is fatally shot by officers years after police tried to steer him away from crime

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut police officers fatally shot a 36-year-old man whom authorities had tried to steer away from crime years ago.

A state police sergeant and two New Haven police officers opened fire on the man late Thursday afternoon at a car wash in West Haven after they say he displayed a gun during an investigation by a violent crime task force.

Authorities have not released the names of the man who died, who was from New Haven, or the officers involved in the shooting. Details of the task force investigation were not disclosed.

New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson said he knew the man who was shot from his days as a patrol officer walking a beat in the city years ago. He said he had arrested the man’s brother once, and also had talked with both of them as part of a violence prevention program called Project Longevity.

“We told them we want you safe, alive and out of jail,” Jacobson said in an interview Friday. “It’s tragic, and the officers are deeply upset too. The officers don’t want to do something like this.”

Jacobson said the officers involved were placed on administrative leave under normal protocols, and other officers at the scene were sent home for several days for their mental health.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said he was with the man’s family at the hospital.

“As you can imagine, the family was very, very upset at the hospital, and on behalf of the city of New Haven we express our deepest condolences to the family,” Elicker said at a news conference Thursday night.

The state inspector general is investigating and is expected to release more information as well as video of the shooting within the next few days.