NEW HAVEN, CT — A New Haven police officer, Evan Kelly, 47, faces a third-degree assault charge after surrendering to state police on Thursday, Oct. 15. He is accused of hitting a woman in the head while she was handcuffed, during an arrest outside a downtown bar a year ago, the New Haven Independent and NBC Connecticut reported. Kelly, a 10-year department veteran, was one of its use-of-force instructors when it happened.
He went to Troop F at about 10 a.m. and was freed on a written promise to appear. His next court date is 9 a.m. Nov. 3 in New Haven.
What the Warrant Describes
The 12-page warrant, by Det. Jason Trombly of the state police's Central District Major Crime Unit, puts the arrest outside Elm City Social on College Street at about 1:14 a.m. on Oct. 18, 2025. Kelly was working a bar detail and answered a disturbance call about an employee who, the general manager told him, had been let go for being drunk on the job. Kelly handcuffed the 33-year-old woman with her hands behind her back, and she tried to pull away as he walked her to his cruiser, the warrant says.
Sgt. Brian Watrous, the shift supervisor, arrived at 1:17 a.m. and held her right arm. In his report, Kelly wrote that he felt her hands at the front of his duty belt and heard the Velcro of his pepper spray pouch open. He said he ordered her to let go, then punched her twice on the left side of the head, using his left, non-dominant hand.
The state police documents quote what the two officers said right afterward, the Independent reported. "[S]he can't really do a hell of a lot when you have a hold of her," Watrous told Kelly. "Well she is grabbing my pepper spray," Kelly replied. "I know," Watrous said, "but she is cuffed behind her back." When Watrous questioned his reasoning, Kelly answered, "I'll write what I have to write, and you do what you have to do."
Two Accounts of the Arrest
The woman has denied being aggressive, resisting or reaching for Kelly's pepper spray, though investigators said the body-camera footage appeared to show otherwise, the Independent reported. The warrant describes her as appearing to be under the influence of alcohol, yelling, and using her legs to keep the cruiser door from closing. Shown the video in June, she told investigators she did not remember being punched.
She was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, where a doctor noted a black eye; she told investigators she had facial swelling and bruising. City police later charged her with five offenses, among them breach of peace, criminal trespass, assault and interfering with an officer, the department said.
Interviewed by state police on April 1, with his attorneys Jeff Ment and Francesco Picone present, Kelly said he believed she posed a threat because he considers pepper spray a dangerous instrument that could have incapacitated him.