Yale Officer Fired Twice Into Car Windows During New Haven Self-Harm Call

NEW HAVEN, CT — A Yale police officer fired his gun twice into a parked car's windows Wednesday, Oct. 14, as he tried to reach a man who was stabbing himself inside, according to a preliminary report and videos the state Office of Inspector General released Friday, Oct. 16. The office identified the officer as Ancil Farrier and said the man does not appear to have been struck by gunfire.

The inspector general's office is looking into why Farrier chose to fire into the car, the New Haven Independent reported. State law requires that office to investigate and manage any case in which a police officer uses deadly force, Mayor Justin Elicker said Wednesday.

What the Videos Show

Yale officers were sent at about 8:50 a.m. to a call about an "emotionally disturbed person" and found a man inside a locked SUV in a lot behind 205 Whitney Avenue that belongs to the New Haven Lawn Club, the Independent reported from the release. The office released three clips: Farrier's body camera video, a Yale police dashboard camera video and a bystander's video.

On his body camera, Farrier asks other officers to break the glass, then calls out, "I'm gonna shoot the glass," and fires once through the rear window on the driver's side, according to the Independent's account of the footage. Another officer then went to the driver's door, whose window was already partly open, and it opened. As that officer began pulling the man out, Farrier fired a second time, into the front passenger window on the other side of the car, the Independent and WTNH reported. WFSB's account of the report places both shots in the rear window on the driver's side.

The inspector general's office put the shooting at about 9:08 a.m. Yale's head of public safety, Duane Lovello, had given the time Wednesday as around 9:21 a.m.

What Yale and the City Said Wednesday

Lovello said Wednesday that the officer found someone inside a locked vehicle who was trying to injure themselves. "In an effort to intercede, the officer broke the vehicle's window using a firearm that discharged," Lovello said. He added that the person was not struck, and that the officer gave medical aid after the person was removed from the vehicle. The officer was also getting a medical evaluation, Lovello said. Elicker's office also confirmed the incident.

NBC Connecticut reported Wednesday that the man was in critical condition at Yale New Haven Hospital and in surgery that morning. Elicker said the man had no gunshot wounds and that he believed stab wounds caused the injuries, Patch reported. On Friday afternoon he remained at Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was being treated for stab wounds to his neck that he had inflicted himself, the Independent reported. No officers were hurt, according to the inspector general's office.

The inspector general's investigators went to the scene that morning, with New Haven and Yale police assisting. New Haven police closed Whitney Avenue between Sachem and Humphrey streets and reopened it around 11 a.m. The investigation is continuing.

Lovello said Yale is keeping everyone involved in its thoughts and hopes they fare well as they receive medical care.

Help is available from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat online at 988lifeline.org.

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