Milford Police express sincere condolences to family & friends of Michael Brown
A Message from Milford Police Chief Keith Mello
The Milford Police Department expresses its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Michael Brown. Because of the seriousness of this tragedy, I think that it is important that the public have the opportunity to view all of the body camera footage from the officer’s cameras, as early as possible. I have included links to each officer’s body camera video.
Video Links:
As we earlier reported, on June 5th, at approximately 10:36 am, officers were dispatched to the Stop and Shop Grocery Store on a report of a person attempting to steal $648 worth of non-food items. Stop and Shop Loss Prevention identified Michael Brown as the suspect.
Responding officers subsequently located the suspect vehicle in the parking lot of Big Y grocery store. Officers were aware that Michael Brown had eight (8) outstanding Arrest Warrants, including three (3) Failure to Appear Warrants issued by the court.
Mr. Brown was located by officers exiting Big Y. When the officers approached Mr. Brown, he provided them with a false name. One officer, however, was aware of Mr. Brown’s identity from a previous investigation. Mr. Brown disregarded the officer’s instructions not to enter his vehicle. Mr. Brown got into his car and attempted to start the vehicle. The officers attempted to restrain and prevent Mr. Brown from driving away. Mr. Brown resisted the officer’s efforts and a struggle ensued. Mr. Brown was physically removed from the vehicle and continued to resist the officers’ efforts to take him into custody.
During the struggle to restrain Mr. Brown and take him into custody, Mr. Brown complained of having trouble breathing. Emergency Medical Service was notified and responded to the scene. Once Mr. Brown was restrained, controlled, and in handcuffs, the officers turned him onto his side and sat him upright. The officers adjusted his positioning several times.
Upon its arrival, EMS provided medical services which included administering Narcan to Mr. Brown. EMS transported Mr. Brown to Milford Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The cause and manner of death will be determined by the medical examiner.
Connecticut state statute requires that the Office of the Inspector General’s Office (OIG) conduct an independent investigation into these matters. We have provided all available information, including body camera footage, reports, and arrest warrant affidavits to the Inspector General.
We welcome this investigation by the Inspector General and upon its conclusion, we will conduct our own internal review to ensure that all MPD policies were adhered to during this encounter. It would not be appropriate for us to comment further while this investigation is ongoing. All questions and inquiries regarding this incident should be directed to the OIG.
I encourage the public to withhold judgment until the final report by the Inspector General’s Office, including the findings of the Chief Medical Examiner and the Toxicology Results.