- Police Brutality Watch

A city police officer whose actions resulted in the death of Curtis Good was in compliance with the state attorney general's guidelines for the use of deadly force, a police department review has found. As a result, police officer Carmen Fazzolari, who was not indicted by a grand jury and has been on paid administrative leave since August, is expected to return to patrol duties once his doctor approves his return to work. One of Good's brothers, Leon Bradford of Detroit, said he's not surprised at the outcome of the police department's review. He said once the Middlesex County grand jury declined to indict Fazzolari in the Aug. 20 shooting death of his 41-year-old brother, he expected the city to do the same."I do feel he (Fazzolari) committed a wrongful death." Bradford said with 18 years on the job, he thought Fazzolari could have dealt with the situation differently. Rather than shoot to kill, Bradford questions why the officer wasn't able to subdue his brother. "I just feel because of the how it all took place, the officer was negligent," Bradford said. "He murdered our brother. It's just sad." The city already has been notified that the family plans to sue over the shooting and seek $1 million in damages. Bradford said he's also interested in seeing if there is any recourse to appeal the grand jury's decision. Police were called to the apartment around 1:30 a.m. Aug. 20. Fazzolari went in alone and saw Good crouching in the bedroom, ripping away wall board while searching for something. As Good turned toward him, the officer thought he saw a gun in his hand and fired twice at Good, the report states. When Good lifted a television set threateningly, the officer fired more rounds from his .45-caliber Glock. A total of eight shots were fired. Good was struck six times, with one shot hitting his heart. [more]