Connecticut

Judge rules experts can’t say who hired them in CT state trooper’s manslaughter trial

Published

2 years ago

March 11, 2024

Judge rules experts can’t say who hired them in CT state trooper’s manslaughter trial

The trial against Connecticut State Police trooper Brian North, who faces a manslaughter charge in the deadly shooting of Mubarak Soulemane in 2020, continued Monday with a ruling that will bar the defense from mentioning that two experts expected to testify Tuesday were initially consulted by the state when they gave opinions that the trooper’s actions were justified.

Inspector General Robert Devlin, Jr. argued that it would be “unfair” to associate the experts with the state at this point, as they were initially consulted by Middlesex State’s Attorney Michael Gailor before the Office of Inspector General was created in 2021, at which time Devlin took over all officer-involved shooting and in-custody death investigations.

“I disagree with that opinion and their conclusion,” Devlin argued, adding that who initially hired the experts is “just not a material fact.”

Following his investigation into the Jan. 15, 2020, shooting on Campbell Avenue in West Haven, Devlin concluded that North’s actions were not justified, going against the opinions of the experts hired by Gailor. North, 33, faces one count of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm.

Monday marked the sixth day of the trial in the Ansonia-Milford Judicial District Courthouse and the second in which North’s attorney, Bridgeport-based Lawyer Frank Riccio, has presented a defense. Riccio called a Connecticut State Police instructor to the stand Monday and told Judge H. Gordon Hall that he made every effort to get his last two witnesses for Monday’s testimony but that their travel made it impossible.

Riccio is expected to rest his defense once the jury hears from two experts who previously said they believe North was justified when he fired seven shots at Soulemane, who was 19 when he led police in Norwalk on a pursuit after displaying a knife in an AT&T store and stealing a Hyundai Sonata from a Lyft driver. Norwalk officers called off their pursuit on Route 7 before state police began pursuing the Sonata on Interstate 95 upon being incorrectly told the driver was involved in a carjacking.

Following a high-speed chase that involved multiple collisions, the Sonata got off I-95 on Exit 43 in West Haven, where Soulemane struck a Chevrolet Trailblazer and was found unresponsive when he was partially boxed in by state police cruisers just after 5 p.m. State police troopers, including North, and an officer from West Haven surrounded the vehicle before the West Haven officer smashed the passenger side window.

Soulemane — whose family testified earlier in the trial that the teen suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and appeared to be undergoing a psychiatric episode — then woke up and began reaching for a serrated kitchen knife in his waistband. North, who was positioned at the driver’s side of the car with his gun drawn, testified Friday that the teen raised the knife and that he believed the West Haven officer had begun entering the vehicle, prompting him to fire his weapon.

CT state trooper takes stand in trial, defends fatal shooting of teen. It escalated to ‘lethal force’

Speaking on the motion to suppress on Tuesday, Riccio argued that it’s always customary when experts are brought in to inquire about who contacted them and if they are being paid to testify.

“That’s standard operating procedure when we speak to any expert,” Riccio argued.

Mentioning that the experts were initially consulted by Gailor speaks to the issue of “credibility and bias” with expert witnesses and would illustrate that, if they had any bias in the matter, it likely would have been skewed toward the prosecutor who initially hired them and not the defense, Riccio added.

“The state of Connecticut hired them,” Riccio said. “Attorney Devlin is a representative of the state of Connecticut.”

“I had nothing to do with hiring these people,” Devlin said.

“There’s a prejudicial aspect to this,” Devlin continued.

In hearing the motion, Hall said a number of things have happened since the experts were initially consulted, including the arrest of his client, and that ultimately it was the decision by the defense to retain them for testimony.

“I don’t see the relevance really of what happened before that,” Hall said.

“I think it’s completely relevant,” Riccio countered.

“I think the relevance is marginal at best,” Hall said, ruling in favor of the state.

Riccio earlier in the day had called Connecticut State Police Trooper Craig Brezniak to the stand to testify about training he had given North. Brezniak has worked as an instructor with the police academy and serves as a coordinator with the Connecticut State Police Tactical Team — which includes troopers with specialized training who respond to potentially hostile situations.

Brezniak began training North for the team in November 2019, after he applied to join. Brezniak testified that firearm instruction was included in the training dealing specifically with, among other things, barriers.

Barriers like windows, doors and walls can affect the trajectory of a bullet, Brezniak testified, adding that tactical team members are generally trained to shoot a hole in barriers before believing that the bullet’s path will be uninterrupted.

During cross-examination, Devlin inquired as to whether state police conduct any firearm training involving one- or two-round drills. Brezniak said yes and was interrupted by Devlin when he attempted to elaborate.

“That’s a yes or no answer, sir,” said Devlin, who has criticized several aspects surrounding the response by police once they found Soulemane unresponsive, including North’s decision not only to fire but to discharge seven rounds.

Brezniak later clarified that low-round drills are usually done for budgetary reasons in instances where the training is focused on something like drawing a weapon and does not require numerous rounds to be fired. Brezniak said he conducted drills with North that included up to 10 rounds being discharged.

The trial is expected to continue Tuesday at 10 a.m. with Riccio’s last two witnesses before he rests his defense.

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Connecticut

Gov. Lamont responds to President Trump’s decision to “undo” full SNAP benefits

Published

11 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Press Room

Gov. Lamont responds to President Trump’s decision to “undo” full SNAP benefits

As some states, including Connecticut, are issuing full SNAP benefits to recipients, the Trump administration is now saying those efforts need to be rolled back.

That’s according to a Department of Agriculture memo during the ongoing government shutdown.

As the government shutdown continues to drag on, the court battle over the lapse in federal funding of SNAP benefits remains front and center.

“There has been no other time in which SNAP benefits have been suspended due to government shutdown,” Brian Marks, a University of New Haven business professor, said.

As it plays out, Connecticut is among the few states moving ahead with using state funds to give full SNAP payments to recipients for November. Marks says the move by Governor Ned Lamont is notable, as he’s seen as a fiscal moderate.

“Governor Lamont is being thoughtful and considerate about those who need and trying to transfer funds where he can and where he has the authority,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that needs to stop after the Supreme Court issued a pause on a federal district court order telling the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP.

In a memo issued late Saturday, the USDA says the extent states had sent full SNAP payments for this month was “unauthorized” and says they must “immediately undo” those steps. It says failure to comply could result in actions such as the USDA holding states financially responsible over sending the full payments and cancelling federal cost-sharing of SNAP with them.

Governor Lamont responded to the memo saying the state didn’t need to take back SNAP funds saying in a statement:

“No, Connecticut does not need to take back SNAP benefits already sent to the 360,000 people who depend on them for food and who should have never been caught in the middle of this political fight. We continue to assess what impact this memo may have, but those who received their benefits should not worry about losing them. We have their back.”

Connecticut Republican Party chairman Ben Proto released a statement pushing for the government to reopen saying in part:

“It’s time for the Democrats to come to their senses, including Ned Lamont and other Democrat governors and to push their Democrat senators to vote for the continuing resolution and fund the government and SNAP & WIC and then sit down and negotiate a new budget. To paraphrase President Obama, it is irresponsible for the Democrats to threaten default, to threaten an economic shutdown, to suggest America not pay its bills to keep struggling families from being able to purchase groceries just to try to blackmail a president into giving them some concessions. The financial and economic problems the people of CT face are from the failed economic policies of CT Democrats and Senators Blumenthal and Murphy’s total failure to protect their constituents.”

Professor Marks says as the debate continues, SNAP recipients will remain caught in the middle.

“It’s clear our elective federal representatives need to come forward and figure out a way to eliminate the shutdown and get this government moving again,” he said.

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Connecticut

Late fumble recovery clinches UConn’s 37-34 come-from-behind win over the visiting Duke

Published

1 day ago

November 9, 2025

Press Room

Late fumble recovery clinches UConn’s 37-34 come-from-behind win over the visiting Duke

The hard lessons from earlier in the 2025 season set the stage for the most memorable win for the UConn football team.

Three losses by a total of 13 points stood between the Huskies and an undefeated record heading into Saturday’s clash with ACC title-contending Duke at Rentschler Field. A touchdown in the final two minutes and a game-clinching fumble recovery lifted UConn to a 37-34 win over Duke in front of the Huskies’ largest home crowd since 2013.

“It is the culmination of the lessons we learned this year from the close games that we have had. I think it is a testament to the will of our young men, the trust that they have in each other,” UConn coach Jim Mora said. “They could easily have played that game and said enough is enough, especially late in the fourth quarter. I think if we hadn’t had the failures we had in the two-minute drives earlier in the year, maybe we would have had the success we had tonight.”

UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano was 6 for 7 on the drive that ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Skyler Bell with 1:58 left. After a review, Fagnano’s two-point conversion run was good to put the Huskies up 37-34.

Duke was driving to try to force overtime, but UConn’s Bryun Parham stripped Duke quarterback Darian Mensah of the ball and Trent Jones recovered to secure UConn’s second win over an ACC team this season.

“I just knew I had to make it and just do my job,” Parham said. “I had to make the play. It was surreal. I’ve always wanted to make a play like that.”

Duke scored on its first two drives in the second half. Nate Sheppard had a 3-yard scoring run. The Blue Devils took the lead as Mensah rolled out and found Landen King in the corner of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1.

UConn converted on a fake punt to set up a 3-yard scoring run by Cam Edwards with 10:48 remaining to put UConn ahead 29-28.

Fagnano threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns for UConn (7-3). Bell finished with 11 catches for 87 yards and two scores, and Reymello Murphy added 110 yards receiving.

Bell’s biggest celebration came when the defense made its biggest play of the 2025 season.

“I was jumping for joy, I almost had a cramp,” said Bell, who went over 1,000 yards receiving early in the game and set the program record for touchdown catches in a season. “I was jumping (like) crazy. The defense came up big.”

Mensah threw for 222 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions for Duke (5-4). Sheppard rushed for 100 yards and two scores. However, Duke coach Manny Diaz pointed to the mistakes that were too much to overcome.

“The quarterback (Fagnano) is the real deal,” Diaz said. “”We were well aware of that. It was a loss that in all three phases that we made too many mistakes.”

UConn’s defense came up with a pair of interceptions in the first half — both leading to Chris Freeman field goals as the Huskies led 20-14 at halftime.

The takeaway

Duke: The Blue Devils are minus-nine in turnover margin in their four losses this season.

UConn: Fagnano has not thrown an interception this season. He did have his pass picked off on a two-point play with 10:48 left to play. It does not count as an interception since it happened on a special teams conversion attempt.

Up next

Duke: Hosts Virginia on Saturday.

UConn: Hosts Air Force on Saturday.

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Connecticut

Beloved Waterfront Restaurant To Close, Owners Announce Unexpectedly: CT News

Published

2 days ago

November 8, 2025

Press Room

Beloved Waterfront Restaurant To Close, Owners Announce Unexpectedly: CT News

On the weekend, we present some of the top stories and headlines from all across Connecticut. You can also find your local Patch and catch up on those stories by clicking here.

“We are deeply grateful for your support and loyalty throughout the years. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” the restaurant said.>>>Read More.

“I want to reaffirm our department’s unwavering commitment to protecting the welfare of all members of our community…” the police chief said.>>>Read More.

Police, schools, and state DCF investigating after a parent reported their child was given “medicine” that made them drowsy.>>>Read More.

The teacher sued the school district in Connecticut after being disciplined for having a crucifix in her classroom. A judge has made a ruling in the case.>>>Read More.

According to the warrant, a family member suspected that the accused was “siphoning” money from the man and then $137,000 was noticed as a balance on two credit cards.>>>Read More.

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