On August 7, 2015 at approximately 8:30 p.m. police officers from the Hartford Police Department responded to 38 Kelsey Street, Hartford to assist the Hartford Mobile Crisis Team with a medical-related disturbance.
Upon arrival Matthew Russo became combative with police, Mobile Crisis Team personnel and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel. A Hartford Police Officer deployed their assigned Taser on Russo as he continued to be combative. After the Taser was deployed, EMS personnel administered a sedative to Russo. Russo began experiencing difficulty breathing, and medical aid was immediately administered. Russo was transported to Hartford Hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.
On August 8, 2015 at approximately 12:30 a.m. State Police detectives from Western District Major Crime responded, and assumed the investigation.
No release has been provided from the City of Hartford or HPD
UPDATE FROM HPD AT 4:00PM:
In an effort to keep our continued lines of communication
open, I am writing you to detail an incident that occurred in the city last
night. Please see preliminary details below:
On Friday, August 8, 2015, at 8:28pm, Hartford Police Department Patrol
Officers responded to 38 Kelsey Street at the request of Capital Region
Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services as they conducted a
medical/psych committal evaluation of a patient, Matthew Russo, 26 of Hartford.
Capital Region responders requested HPD Officers to assist as the patient was
very large and had a history of violent behavior. Officers specifically trained
in Crisis Intervention Training (C.I.T.) responded. During the course of the
evaluation, the patient became combative with Officers and EMS personnel on
scene. A “Dry Stun” pain compliance measure was applied to the patient (This is
a less painful and less intrusive use of force than a standard Taser
deployment). This technique was not affective. EMS personnel then administered a
dose of a sedative. EMS Personnel noticed the patient began to have difficulty
breathing and appeared in distress. The patient was subsequently transported by
Ambulance personnel to Hartford Hospital where he was pronounced deceased at
10:38pm.
Two Hartford Police Officers were also transported to
Hartford Hospital for injuries. One of the officers sustained significant back
injury. The other officer had injuries to his arm and shoulder. Both officers
are currently off-line due to their injuries.
In an effort to maintain community trust, and avoid the
appearance of bias, the incident is currently being investigated by Connecticut
State Police Western District Major Crimes with the assistance of the Chief
State's Attorney's Office. Hartford Police Department Internal Affairs
Investigators also responded and will monitor to ensure all administrative
policies and procedures were adhered to. An Autopsy will be performed by the
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner where a cause of death will likely be
determined.
Deceased:
Matthew Russo (DOB 01/25/89)
38 Kelsey St.
Hartford, CT
We provide this information to you as this is the best
information we currently have available. We will look to keep you updated.
Wow if Chief Rovella had hair I'm sure he'd be pulling it out right now why Taze someone having a medical crisis ?? I'm sure this will make national news creaking idiots
ReplyDeleteLet's hear Segarra's comnents on this tragic event. Let's see what action this "leader" takes. Let's see him meeting with the family of the deceased. Let's hear some explanation from him. Let's see him doing something right. Anything.
ReplyDeleteyou won't hear from Segarra on this one, he punted it to the State Police so he won't have to comment.
ReplyDeleteOnly 26 years old? Wow he died so young this is Tragic another shining moment under Rovella!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't get it aren't all the officers armed with pepper spray ? Why automatically go to your taser?? Pepper Spray NEVER KILLED ANYONE what's wrong with these trigger happy cops I hope to God the deceased isn't Black can't imagine he is with the last name Russo but we know how the Media can spin this!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, you don't get it. Oc spray is horrible as far as a choice in force level and most of us who've used it in the field can attest to that. You defiantly don't use it inside a building where the residual cloud has no where to go but into the officers' and mobile crisis members' eyes. In addition to potentially debilitating yourself as an officer, spray often has no or little effect or mentally ill people in crisis or folks who are hopped up on drugs.
DeleteJust as a side note, in order to carry the tazer, the officer had to ride the lightening themselves for TRAINING purposes, so quit your crying.
With a combination of over 50'000 volts of electricity and whatever drug the EMTs gave this person it's no telling what could have happened morons I tell ya another public disaster for the PD
ReplyDeleteAlthough it seems to be popular for open season on the Cops, the prudent thing is to ait until the facts are in on this incident. What was the original reason for the medical emergency and the man's distress? The man was very overweight from what I am told, was a heart attack or stroke contributing factors? what as the drug the EMT's gave him and could there have been some sort of allergic reaction? The ME should be able to provide much more information. If the taser wasn't used and the Police and EMT's wrestled him to the ground and retrained him and then he suffered a heart attack would that be more acceptable. We have police officers to maintain order and control. Would we prefer they just turn around and leave if the situation is too bad? These situations aren't perfect and bad things can happen when situations are going bad,quickly. These are police officers and human beings, not magicians. By all accounts, I am being told, the officer involved is a good and respected Police Officer, not some sadist looking to torture a human being. This is a sad and unfortunate situation, lets not make it worse by using it as a reason to build a greater divide between the community and our Police Department
ReplyDelete2:21pm, don't hold your breath. Nothing Segarra does is right. Can't trust this guy.
ReplyDeleteIf it was an HFD problem other than your Idol you would condemn them faster than hell. What happened to the guy they ran down over on Park Terrace?
ReplyDeleteBad Decision Making Chief Lowe said
ReplyDeleteTake it easy on those cops, they have cool lights, just like my Charger!
Kevin as journalist or blogger you should have been attemtpting to get the officers names . That is being transparent . You wouldn't hold back if this was a Pedro story so why the double standard . Get out of Chief Complex behinds and get back to the good ole blog days when you had a journalist undertone to stories .
ReplyDeleteYou turds have sunken to an all time low goin at these guys for this. The guy was FINE until EMS "sedated" him.
ReplyDeleteCan someone post the stats on how many suspects died while NOT resisting?
ReplyDeleteFerguson, Baltimore, etc, RESISTED ARREST!
If a cop arrests you, the Court is the place to fight them, not the streets.
Keeping Danny & his crew story under raps I see.Good job Mr brookman
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteSeems that officials need higher training on the use of a Taser which along with sedation could has
stopped that man‘s heart…What an unfortunate tragedy.
http://www.psmag.com/politics-and-law/taser-dangers-effects-police-departments-crime-law-97366
When the state police release their findings you'll see that it wasn't the taser that was the cause, it will be the sedative in combination with whatever narcotic he may have been under the influence already and/or an allergic reaction to it.
DeleteYou show your ignorance when you post something you don't truly understand. The taser is a fantastic device, pepper spray is worthless..the next step is lethal force so those who have been tased should be grateful they weren't shot, plus it only hurts for a second and it doesn't do any damage. Ibuprofen kills more people.
Oh for the love of God. Not a single one of you has any Ems training or you would know that the medication carried by Hartford EMS agencies under CT State Protocols for "chemical restraint" will not stop someone's heart. They will slow and possibly stop their respiratory drive but that is easily corrected. And as far as using the taser and chemical restraint it is a pretty common practice. The taser stops the aggressiveness of the patient for only a short time. For the safety of the crews EMS/PD/FD and the patients safety chemical restraint may then be applied to keep the patient from fighting. Maybe all you Monday Morning quarterback cans spend the day with HPD/EMS or mobile crisis and see what it's like dealing with an Emoitonally Disturbed Person...good luck winning a fight or talking them down when they are high on K2 or PCP. Maybe everyone would like it better if we went back to aggressive hands on restraint....
ReplyDeleteSegarra must wake up and comment on what happened on Kelsey St. if he's not scared, of course
ReplyDeleteEMS crew was from Hartford.
ReplyDeletePD officers were from Hartford.
FD firefighters were from Hartford.
Hartford mayor: AWOL.
Note to self: Do not call HPD for a medical emergency.
ReplyDelete"Crisis Teams", which are made up of social worker/therapists, do not respond to medical emergencies. Crisis teams respond to emergencies involving suicidal people and/or those with mental health issues. If a crisis team calls for the Police, it is likely because the person that they are trying to evaluate/assist, is becoming aggressive and/or combative, causing the crisis team members to fear for their own personal safety. That is likely why this individual was tased, because he was becoming aggressive and combative. Somehow the concept of giving up/not resisting, has become lost on people. When the taser comes out, everyone has the option to cease their current behavior and comply, some, however, choose to keep fighting, to their own detriment.
ReplyDeleteThe Police do not show up to routine medical calls and tase people. That is in nobody's best interest.
First of all it was a "Drive Stun" application, which is used for compliance. It does not shoot the taser into the victim. In fact the taser cartidge is removed by the officer. It does nor cause any interuption of the heart or cental nervous system. Know how the taser works before commmenting from a complete lack of knowledge of the weapon or its applications.
ReplyDeleteA 400 plus pund 26 year old is a walking(?) medical disaster before police, fire and ems arrived on scene. Don't blame HPD for his obesity and related medical conditions.
Anonymous 11:13 AM
ReplyDeleteIf HPD had no blame then the publicity photo of them working a junky wouldn't be in the Courant. Cops don't work OD's, ever. They could care less.
Everyone seems real concerned about irrelevant but necessary police use of force. Where's all the concern for #21?
ReplyDelete#fergusoneffectcontinues
12:13pm Your account is less than accurate. Because someone sits and listens to a scanner and chases the cops to grab a photo to sensationalize and sell papers, that is not a publicity stunt by HPD. To say cops don't work OD's is also inaccurate. If the call came is as an unresponsive body in the park, HPD would also respond along with Fire and EMS( providing there was an officer available to dispatch since HPD is woefully understaffed due to a Mayor and Council who only pay attention to staffing when it is an election issue)This isn't Ferguson or Baltimore, we have plenty of good Officer's who actually care about the community they serve.
ReplyDelete11:13am
ReplyDeleteYour statement "A 400 plus pound 26 year old is a walking(?) medical disaster before police, fire and ems arrived on scene. Don't blame HPD for his obesity and related medical conditions." is a reasonable question. Does no one figure that this man was a disaster waiting to happen? If he dropped dead of a heart attack, that was most likely inevitable, and no cop was anywhere near him, would we find a way to blame the police? (Even though there is no indication yet that it was the officer's fault) Personal responsibility needs to be the first question we ask in incidents like this.If you punch a police officer in the face, break his eye socket and grab for his gun, do you not think there might be a bad outcome to that? If you drive your car through the front window of a car dealership in the middle of the night, most likely to commit a burglary , would you be surprised when that has a very negative outcome? let's start accepting responsibility for our own actions,we can only blame the police for so much
Well, Segarra, while visiting the scene of murder #21, said it's difficult preventing "such crimes". He also added that this is a "trend that is very difficult for us to have control over."
ReplyDeleteIn other words, Pedro Segarra doesn't understand what's going on here, he doesn't understand why, and he has no idea how to deal with it.
By the way, is Pedro Segarra still the mayor?
He's right. Is it really necessary that there's a cop on every block to prevent people from acting like animals?
ReplyDeleteObservations...
ReplyDeleteFilthy streets...the result of values or lack of them... ultimately it is the result of children having children and having no values to pass along because they never received them from their 'children' parents.
Several years ago Hartford launched an anti 'Litter'' campaign the slogan of which was to 'Toss It' - which is exactly what folks along Park Street do... they just 'toss it'.
Regarding the most recent '"Lifes value'' issue... ALL lives have valuable - blacks, whites, hispanics, drug addicts, homosexuals, straights, whites AND police officers. When we try to separate them or elivate one group over another we loose the 'value''
God gave to ALL of us!
When anyone casts aspergions on another he/she will ultimately degrade any of us for being different should the situation/opportunity present itself. I urge you not to fall into the trap of being amoung the 'special group'.
Bottom line... we will never suceed in elivating ourselves by stepping on others!