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Hartford community grieves men killed in police shootings

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Hartford community grieves men killed in police shootings


The Hartford community is grappling with two police shootings that happened within eight days of each other. Both started off as mental health calls about someone in distress.

People came together to remember one of the men killed at a vigil on Wednesday evening.

With hands joined, a prayer for peace and comfort was spoken for the family of Everard Walker. He was having a mental health crisis when a family member called 211 on Feb.19.

Two mental health professionals from the state-operated Capitol Regional Mental Health Center requested Hartford police come with them to Walker’s apartment on Capitol Avenue.

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A scuffle ensued, and police said it looked like Walker was going to stab an officer. The brief fight ended with an officer shooting and killing Walker.

The family is planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

“All I will have now is a tombstone and the voicemails he left on my phone that I listen over and over again at night just so I can fall asleep,” Menan Walker, one of Walker’s daughters, said.

City councilman Josh Michtom (WF) is asking whether police could have acted differently.

“To me, the really concerning thing is why the police were there at all, why they went into that apartment in the way that they did, in the numbers that they did,” he said.

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The president of Hartford’s police union, James Rutkauski, asked the community to hold their judgment and wait for a full investigation by the Inspector General’s office to be completed.

A different tone was taken in a statement released about another police shooting on Blue Hills Avenue on Feb. 27.

Rutkauski said the union fully supports the officer who fired at 55-year-old Steven Jones, who was holding a knife during a mental health crisis.

In part, the union’s statement says that Jones “deliberately advanced on the officer in a manner that created an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury. This was a 100% justified use of deadly force.”

The Inspector General’s office will determine if the officer was justified following an investigation.

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The officer who shot Jones was the fourth to arrive on the scene. Three others tried to get him to drop the knife, even using a taser, before the shooting.

“It just feels like beyond the conduct of any one officer, we have this problem, which is that we send cops for every problem,” Michtom said. “I don’t know how you can de-escalate at the point of a gun.”

Jones died from his injuries on Tuesday.  

The union’s statement went on to say that officers should not be society’s default for mental health professionals. The statement said in part, “We ask for renewed commitment from our legislators to remove police from being the vanguard of what should be a mental health professional response.”

The officers involved in both shootings are on administrative leave.

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Man arrested after stealing from Connecticut Children’s Hospital donation bin

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Man arrested after stealing from Connecticut Children’s Hospital donation bin


ENFIELD, Conn. (WFSB) – Police arrested a Connecticut man on Sunday morning after he allegedly stole bottles and cans from a Connecticut Children’s Hospital donation bin.

Officers received a call at around 8 a.m. for a report of a larceny from a “Cans For Kids” donation bin at located on Raffia Road, according to the police department.

Police said they used used local surveillance cameras and municipal license plate readers to identify a vehicle and suspect.

Officials identified the individual as Joshua Wilcox of Broad Brook

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With the help of Wethersfield police officers, Wilcox was found and detained. Enfield police arrested Wilcox and charged him with sixth-degree larceny and first-degree criminal trespass.

It was also revealed that this is the second incident involving Wilcox at the same location, police said.

No further details were released.

Eyewitness News will provide more details as soon as they become available.

Copyright 2026 WFSB. All rights reserved.

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Danbury OKs expanded building plans for west side cancer center

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Danbury OKs expanded building plans for west side cancer center


“(T)he applicant is proposing a minor building addition of 1,300 square feet to the basement level because the specialized proton equipment required a slightly larger support space,” said Allie Smith, an associate planner with the city’s professional planning and zoning department.

Smith is referring to what would be the second proton therapy cancer treatment center between New York City and Boston, after the Connecticut Proton center in Wallingford, which is scheduled to open later this year.

Proton therapy is considered advanced radiation treatment because it uses the positively charged particles to “target cancer with exceptional precision,” reducing damage to nearby healthy tissue.

The expanded building plans for Danbury Proton are the latest development in a prolonged effort to serve western Connecticut and nearby New York residents with the novel cancer treatment.

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The project, which was set to break ground on a 3-acre site overlooking Danbury Municipal Airport this spring, is “very busy marketing and selling the bonds,” a spokesman said.

“We’re ready to break ground as soon as we close on the bonds,” said Drew Crandall on Friday. “We are in conversation with investors every day and we are making good progress.”

In March, Danbury’s City Council agreed to use its bonding power to help Danbury Proton get low-cost financing under a “conduit issuer” agreement. Around the same time, the city’s Planning Commission extended approvals for the project, which were scheduled to expire in July.

All that means that Danbury Proton expects to open its 17,000-square-foot facility at 85 Wooster Heights Road in late 2027 or early 2028.

“The day is coming when we will be treating patients with revolutionary proton therapy cancer treatment,” Crandall said in a newsletter to supporters last week. “Countless patients and their families will benefit from proton therapy.”

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Fire extends from attic of well-known Clinton donut shop

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Fire extends from attic of well-known Clinton donut shop


Several businesses and residents are displaced after a well-known donut shop in Clinton caught fire Saturday morning according to fire department officials.

Clinton Volunteer Fire Department officials say officers received reports of a fire at Beach Donut where they found heavy smoke and a fire extending to the attic.

They say people were evacuated while firefighters work to bring the fire under control.

One person was transported by Clinton EMS for evaluation.

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The displaced residents are being treated by the American Red Cross and the fire is still under investigation by the Clinton Fire Marshal’s Office with assistance from the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosives Investigation Unit.

The fire department received mutual aid from several fire stations and EMS from neighboring towns.

According to the Beach Donut Facebook, the business will be temporarily closed until notice.



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