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The New Haven County incident happened at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 5, in Milford, in the Big Y Grocery Store parking lot on Boston Post Road.
Milford Police said officers approached 52-year-old Michael Brown, of Bridgeport, after store employees claimed he attempted to steal $648 worth of non-food items. A Stop and Shop loss prevention employee identified Brown as the suspect.
At the time, Brown had eight outstanding arrest warrants, including three for failure to appear.
Officer-worn body camera footage released by Milford Police on Tuesday, June 11, shows Brown initially giving officers a fake name. He then gets into the driver’s side door of a parked car, ignoring an officer’s order to stay out of the vehicle, and says he is getting his identification.
The footage shows two officers struggling to pull Brown out of the car as he repeatedly tells them to wait.
“Get out of the (expletive) car,” one officer is heard saying. “Get out of the car now.”
Brown continues resisting, repeatedly telling the officers to “wait” and claiming that his leg is broken.
“I’m asking you please, bro, that’s all I’m asking,” he says.
The officers eventually get Brown onto the ground lying on his stomach and place him in handcuffs. Throughout the encounter, he repeatedly yells that his leg is broken and that he can’t breathe.
“If you just got out, it wouldn’t turn into this. You do this to yourself,” a female officer is heard telling Brown afterward. “When we ask you to do something, you gotta do it.”
Officers eventually sit Brown up while they wait for an ambulance to arrive. The female officer is seen giving him several drinks from a water bottle.
According to Milford Police, medics administered Narcan, which is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. He was then transported to Milford Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
An official cause and manner of death was still pending determination by the medical examiner’s office as of Tuesday afternoon, June 11.
The Office of the Inspector General’s Office (OIG) is conducting an independent investigation, as is standard procedure under Connecticut state law.
Milford Police Chief Keith Mello said the agency has provided all available information, including 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,” Mello said.
“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.”
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
Video of the arrest can be viewed below.
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