The Office of the Inspector General is investigating after a Bridgeport Police officer fatally shot a man on Monday night and they have released video as the investigation continues.
On Friday morning, the office released the preliminary status report on the investigation into the use of deadly force that resulted in the death of 39-year-old Dyshan Best.
The Office of the Inspector General released bodycam video that shows the moment a Bridgeport police officer shot and killed a man in Bridgeport on Monday.
Police officers responded to reports of a large fight on East Main Street around 5:50 p.m. on Monday as people had gathered in connection with a funeral, according to the Office of the Inspector General.
The officers also had information that someone in a black Chevrolet Tahoe in the area had a gun and they found the vehicle in a store parking lot on East Main Street, according to the report.
It says Officer Erin Perrotta opened the passenger door and told Best that he was going to be patted down, but he got out of the Tahoe and ran while holding a Rémy Martin liquor bottle in one hand. Officers Perrotta and Yoon Heo then chased Best.
When they got to the gas station near the intersection of Beecher Street and Kossuth Street, Officer Heo deployed a stun gun and Best continued to run, losing his shoes as he ran through the gas station, then the chase continued down Kossuth Street and into a driveway, the report says.
Best had gotten rid of the liquor bottle at that point and had an object in his right hand that looked like a gun as he ran up the driveway and Officer Heo fired his handgun two times, striking Best, the report says.
It goes on to say that police recovered a Highpoint Compact 9mm handgun next to the spot where Best fell.
Officers provided medical aid at the scene until the Bridgeport Fire Department arrived and Best was transported to Bridgeport Hospital, where he died at 7:41 p.m.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy the next day and determined that Best died from a gunshot wound to the torso and classified the manner of death as a homicide, the report says.
The Office of the Inspector General has released video from police body-worn cameras as well as surveillance video from the area.
" target="_blank"> You can see part of Officer Perrotta’s body-worn camera recording here.
(Warning, this video shows the shooting) " target="_blank"> Part of Officer Heo’s body-worn camera is posted here.
The Citgo Station on the corner of Boston Avenue and Beecher Street had a surveillance camera that recorded part of the chase and " target="_blank"> a slow-motion version is posted here.
The Office of Inspector General, Bridgeport Police Department, Connecticut State Police, Western District Major Crime Squad and the Bridgeport Judicial District State’s Attorney’s Office are investigating.
Bridgeport police held a news conference at noon to discuss the shooting.
Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter said Officer Heo has been placed on leave amid the investigation.
He said the police department is cooperating with the investigation and asked for patience from the community.
Porter said what he saw in the video seems to be in line with the training for use of force procedure, but that will be up to the Office of the Inspector General to determine.
Porter expressed his deepest condolences to the Best family and said during a news conference that he is not at liberty to discuss the investigation or comment on the particulars of it.
Best's family spoke Friday afternoon and say they aren't satisfied with the department's answers. They deny Best had a gun.
"He was a good guy. He did not deserve this to happen to him the way it did," said Best's sister, Cecilia Best Jessie.
Darnell D. Crosland, an attorney for the family, said the officers never should have chased Best.
"I don’t want to hear about the fact that he was running, and there was possibly a gun some place. This is what you get a warrant for," Crosland said.
