Prosecutor recommends Arrest of Hartford Police in Fatal Shooting of Black Man: Jashon Bryant was Unarmed & Shot from Behind
Sunday, May 14, 2006 at 11:59PM 
The Waterbury state's attorney on Tuesday recommended that an arrest warrant be sought for a Hartford police officer who shot a city man to death last year. Officer Robert Lawlor should be charged with manslaughter in the death of 18-year-old Jashon Bryant, prosecutor John Connelly said. The report found the shooting of 18-year-old Jashon Bryant -- who is black -- by Robert Lawlor -- a white police officer -- was not justified. The report was completed after an investigation by a grand juror in which 48 witnesses were questioned and more than 200 exhibits reviewed. He made his recommendation to Chief State's Attorney Christopher Morano. Lawlor also should be charged with assault in the wounding of 20-year-old Brandon Henry in the same incident, Connelly said. An arrest warrant was not issued by late Tuesday and Lawlor remained on administrative duty, police said. Bryant was sitting in the passenger seat of the car when Lawlor and his partner, Dan Prather, an agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, approached the vehicle with the belief that Bryant and Henry had a gun. Lawlor and Prather, who were part of a task force aimed at removing illegal guns from the streets, ordered Bryant and Henry to get out, but Henry started the car. Lawlor opened fire when Henry drove directly toward Prather and Bryant reached down in front of the seat and pulled up what the officer believed to be a gun, Georgetti has said. Bryant was killed instantly from a gunshot wound to the head, and Henry drove off despite being shot once in the chest. He continued for several blocks, eluding police before crashing into a parked car. But the suspected weapon was never found, despite an extensive search of the car and surrounding neighborhood. The ATF agent assigned to work with Lawlor that day testified he never saw Bryant reaching for a gun, and never considered himself in danger at any point. An analysis of the five shots fired from Lawlor's gun showed they were all fired as the car was driving away from him. The two shots that struck Bryant were both fired from behind him, including one that passed through the passenger seat headrest and struck him in the head. Forensic experts, including Dr. Henry Lee, found the tip of Bryant's right thumb had been grazed by one of the shots, suggesting at least one of his hands had been in clear view at the time of the shooting, and may have been raised as a defensive gesture. [MORE] and [MORE]
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