Summary
Former Hartford police officer Joseph Magnano has been charged with manslaughter in the Feb. 27 shooting of Steven Jones, a 55-year-old Black man whom investigators said was experiencing a mental health crisis. The Connecticut Inspector General said its investigation found that Magnano failed to de-escalate and did not make reasonable attempts to use non-lethal force before firing. The charge was announced Monday after Magnano turned himself into law enforcement, according to the Hartford Police Union president.
Hartford fired Magnano after the shooting, and the charge follows the department’s decision earlier this year. The shooting, which drew widespread public outcry, also renewed scrutiny of how Hartford and police departments respond to people in mental distress. MSI previously reported that Hartford fired rookie officer Joseph Magnano after the fatal knife shooting March 28.
According to the Connecticut Inspector General’s arrest warrant, investigators found that Magnano “did not engage in de-escalation measures (and) he failed to make reasonable attempts to use non-lethal force.” The warrant also said investigators concluded that Jones “did not pose an imminent threat to bystanders,” and that Magnano had “ample space” to back away from Jones.
The warrant further cited investigators’ assessment of bystander safety, saying that “To the extent Magnano subjectively believed that Jones posed a risk of serious physical injuries to bystanders in the area, Magnano made no effort to move bystanders out of any perceived harm’s way.” Investigators said there was space for Magnano to withdraw rather than firing, according to the warrant’s description.
During the confrontation, body camera footage showed Magnano arriving at the scene as three other officers were trying to calm Jones, who had used a knife to cut himself and was described as suicidal in a 911 call made by his sister, according to the report. The officers kept their distance and spoke to Jones softly, the account said, while Magnano immediately began shouting at him to drop the knife.
The report says Magnano then fired nine shots at Jones less than a minute after leaving his vehicle. In his own sworn incident report, Magnano wrote that he was “fearful of Jones making a sudden lunge towards either an officer or citizen.” The warrant’s findings, however, describe a lack of de-escalation and non-lethal attempts, framing those decisions as unreasonable in the situation described.
Hartford Police Union President James Rutkauski accused the inspector general’s office of rushing its findings at a news conference Monday. Rutkauski also said Magnano was “defending his fellow officers, the community, himself,” according to the report.
Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing Jones’ family, said the charges mark progress. Crump called the manslaughter charge a “necessary and meaningful step toward accountability,” adding that “Stevie was in the middle of a mental health crisis, and instead of receiving the care he needed, he was shot nine times.” Crump said, “This charge reflects what the family has known all along, that what happened to Stevie was not justified.”
The report did not immediately provide information about Magnano’s attorney. The case turns on whether prosecutors and the court accept the inspector general’s account of what Magnano should have done during the encounter, including the allegation that he failed to pursue de-escalation and non-lethal options.