In Hartford, Conn., a significant event took place on Saturday. The Connecticut Inspector General has now made public body camera footage that reveals the crucial moments leading up to an officer-involved shooting. This incident left a man in a critical yet stable condition. The bodycam footage was released on Tuesday, accompanied by Inspector General Robert Devlin Jr.'s preliminary report.

Key Details from the Incident

Initial Report and Suspect

Officers with the Hartford Police Department received a report around 8:15 p.m. of a disturbance at 730 Maple Ave. It was reported that a man, identified as 48-year-old Alexander Garay of Hartford, was involved and had displayed a firearm. After fleeing the scene, Garay was spotted by officers from the police department's Street Crime Unit as he crashed at the intersection of Broad and West Preston Streets.

Body Camera Footage Highlights

Body camera footage from Officer Gabrielle Arruda, released with the preliminary report, shows the tense moments. Garay can be seen moving around in the driver's seat while Arruda and Officer Elvis Martinez shout for him to show his hands. Arruda is on foot on the driver's side, and Martinez is on the passenger side. The vehicle rolls back slightly before Martinez can be heard saying "Get him out of the car." After trying the driver's side door, Arruda begins hitting the window until it shatters. Garay leans out and says "no, no, no, no, no" when asked to get out. He then repeatedly says "get away from me" as Arruda deploys her taser, which is ineffective.

Subsequent Actions

Martinez approaches the driver's side of the vehicle and tries to open the door before returning to the passenger side. Arruda then smashes out the rear driver's side window as Garay climbs to the backseat and says "yo, yo, yo, leave me alone, leave me alone." Arruda calls out that "he's grabbing something" just before Martinez tries to grab Garay through the passenger side rear window. Arruda points her taser at Garay for a few seconds before shouting that he has something in his hand and calls multiple times for him to "drop the weapon." Finally, Arruda tells Martinez to "watch out" before firing two rounds at Garay. The video footage ends with Martinez backing away from the vehicle and radioing in "shots fired, shots fired."

Aftermath and Investigations

Garay was treated at the scene by officers and taken to Hartford Hospital, where he remained in critical but stable condition as of Tuesday. Police recovered a loaded Taurus Arms 9mm pistol near Garay when he was removed from the vehicle. Lt. Aaron Boisvert of the Hartford Police Department stated that detectives found that Garay had been disqualified from possessing a firearm due to a prior felony conviction. Authorities also discovered that the vehicle involved was unregistered. Police obtained a warrant for Garay's arrest on charges of criminal possession of a firearm, interfering with police, operating a motor vehicle without a license, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, and possession of narcotics. Garay was served with the warrant in the hospital and is being held on a $750,000 bond. The shooting is being investigated by Devlin's office to determine if Arruda's use of deadly force was justified under Connecticut law.