HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut prison inmate J’Allen Jones was suffering a mental health crisis in 2018 when correctional officers struck him multiple times, stripped him naked, put a spit bag over his head and sprayed pepper spray at his face shortly before he died.

Video of the series of events was released Friday by a state judge in Hartford overseeing Jones’ family’s lawsuit against eight officers and a prison nurse, following a yearslong legal battle and after both sides agreed to certain redactions.

The Department of Correction had sought to keep it sealed since 2019, saying in part that its release could present security problems because it shows the physical layout of the prison and staffing patterns. But Jones’ family, the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and local NAACP officials called for publicly releasing the video, saying transparency was needed in Jones’ death.

“The events in the video are as disturbing as the events in the video of George Floyd’s death,” Ron Murphy, a lawyer for Jones’ family, wrote in a court document, referring to the man killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. “But in some ways, the video of J’Allen’s death is worse.”

Jones, 31, from Atlanta, was serving a 10-year sentence for robbery at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of New Haven when he died on March 25, 2018. Correction officers had been trying to take him to a medical unit in the prison at the time to get treatment for his mental illness.

Handcuffed inmate appeared in crisis as officers struck him

Portions of the 52-minute video show Jones handcuffed behind his back — and later with his legs shackled — as officers hit his legs and torso with their knees and fists, after he refused a strip search. At one point, an officer pins him down on a bed with a knee on his back while others hold him down.

Jones — who was having a schizophrenic episode, according to court documents — is heard yelling at this point, much of it unintelligible. He repeatedly shouts, “In the blood of Jesus Christ!” At one point, he tells officers, “I command you … to uncuff me now!”

Officers, meanwhile, tell Jones numerous times to stop resisting and to calm down. One officer tells Jones they’re just trying to help him.

About 17 minutes into the video, Jones appears to start having trouble breathing after the spit bag was placed over his head and he was pepper sprayed. Nearly five minutes later, Jones appears to be unconscious as officers struggle to hold him up and put him in a wheelchair. At around the 24-minute mark, an officer requests a nurse to evaluate Jones.

“Right now he’s just being dead weight, and I just want to make sure he’s OK,” the officer says, talking to the video camera held by another officer.

Minutes go by before life-saving measures are started

About 28 minutes into the video, a nurse starts performing CPR and an officer orders someone over the radio to call 911. An ambulance crew doesn’t arrive until more than 43 minutes into the video. Jones was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Hours after Jones’ death, the Department of Correction put out a brief statement saying that Jones had become “non-compliant and combative with staff and then became non-responsive.” It did not say anything about officers striking Jones but noted that there were no immediate indications that excessive force was used. It said life-saving measures were performed and he was brought to a hospital.

The medical examiner’s office determined that the cause of Jones’ death was “sudden death during struggle and restraint with chest compression and pepper spray exposure in person with hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.” It ruled his death a homicide, although that designation does not necessarily mean a crime was committed.

In January 2019, a state prosecutor investigating Jones’ death determined that no crimes were committed.

An internal Correction Department investigation found that excessive force was not used. But the eight officers and nurse violated policy by not recognizing for more than seven minutes that Jones was in medical distress — although not intentionally, the investigation report said.

Punishment of one-day suspensions without pay were handed down to the nine staff members, Correction Department records show.

The correctional officers’ union did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Family lawyer hopes video release spurs calls for reforms

Allen was Black, and his lawyer says eight of the nine defendants are white. One is Black. In court papers seeking release of the video, Murphy said it’s important that the public sees the footage and can consider “whether his race or schizophrenia played any role in how his cries for help and gasps for air were perceived and handled.”

“I hope everyone who chooses to watch the video does so with an open heart, remembering that J’Allen Jones was a father and a son and that his family grieves every day,” Murphy said in a statement Friday afternoon, adding that he hoped the video leads to prison system improvements.

He added, “I found the video very difficult to watch as it depicts the painful death of another human being. So please take care of yourself while watching and if you experience overwhelming feelings, consider taking a break or reaching out to someone for support. Thank you.”

Responding to a series of questions from The Associated Press about the video and how officers dealt with Jones, the Correction Department’s interim commissioner Sharonda Carlos, said in a statement that the agency is continually focused on improving the services it offers to inmates experiencing mental health problems.

“Any loss of life in our facilities is a tragedy that we feel deeply, and our sympathy remains with Mr. Jones’ family and loved ones,” she said.

Carlos said she appointed a psychiatrist to lead the department’s inmate medical services in May, and the agency is rolling out major improvements to its mental health training for staff.

“Behind every individual in our care is a family hoping for their well-being, and we do not take that responsibility lightly,” she said.

by Earl Bloodworth, CT Mirror
June 26, 2026

When we talk about gun violence in Connecticut, we often talk about it in numbers.

We count the shell casings left on a New Haven street corner, the number of illegal firearms recovered by police, or the roll-call votes in the General Assembly.

But gun violence does not exist in a vacuum. Like a rock thrown into a pond, its ripples reverberate far beyond a single tragic night. While a headline captures the finality of a death, the living are left to carry a trauma that is constant, heavy, and deeply unfair.

That is why the passage of House Bill 5043 — now signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont — is a profound victory for public safety, but also a moment that requires us to look more closely at what it actually takes to heal communities facing this ongoing public health crisis.

At its core, HB 5043 closes a dangerous gap by targeting “convertible pistols” and the illegal conversion switches that transform standard handguns into fully automatic weapons in seconds. By making the importation and sale of these convertible handguns a Class D felony, Connecticut is refusing to let the gun industry outpace our commitment to keeping families safe.

While critics argue federal laws already cover these devices, the reality on the ground is that criminals actively exploit these specific pistol designs. Ignoring this flood of easily altered firearms into our neighborhoods is like acknowledging a flood but refusing to patch the hole in the levee.

But as the Executive Director of CT Against Gun Violence, I know that legislation alone cannot be the silver bullet. Passing a law stops a specific product; it does not automatically heal a neighborhood. We need to get to the root of the problem.

Before leading CAGV, my career was rooted deeply in reentry services in New Haven and Bridgeport. I spent years working alongside justice-impacted individuals who were trying to rebuild their lives. I saw firsthand how systemic disinvestment, poverty, and a lack of baseline economic opportunity fuel the precise conditions where illegal gun markets and interpersonal violence thrive.

When returning citizens face hundreds of legal barriers to housing, employment, and basic stability, we are failing to address the root causes of the trauma that spills onto our streets.

True violence prevention requires a dual approach. We must advocate fiercely for common-sense, life-saving policies like HB 5043 in the halls of the General Assembly. But we must match that advocacy with unprecedented, sustained investments in community-based programs, street-level violence interrupters, and robust reentry support.

Connecticut has taken a powerful step in this direction by committing $4 million in state investment to gun violence prevention infrastructure, alongside the creation of the state’s Office of Firearm Injury Prevention. This allows us to view gun violence not just as a criminal issue but through a dedicated public health lens as an epidemic that demands deep community resources.

The passage of HB 5043 is an essential shield. It disrupts the pipeline of rapidly militarized firearms and keeps high-velocity danger out of circulation. But a shield only protects you from the blow; it doesn’t cure the underlying illness.

As this new law takes effect, let’s celebrate the political courage it took to pass it. But let’s also let it serve as a reminder of the work that remains. We must continue to build bridges, fund grassroots community intervention, and ensure that every resident in every Connecticut zip code has the safety, dignity, and opportunity they deserve. Only then will the ripples of trauma finally begin to recede.

Earl Bloodworth is the Executive Director of CT Against Gun Violence (CAGV).

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