Connecticut officer found justified in fatal shooting of carjacking suspect

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A Connecticut police officer who fatally shot a man as he tried to flee in a stolen vehicle while being attacked by a police dog was justified in using deadly force while inside the car, according to a report issued Thursday by the state’s Office of Inspector General. It was both “reasonable and justified” for West Hartford Officer Andrew Teeter to fire five rounds into the torso of Mike Alexander-Garcia on Aug. 8, 2023, to “defend himself and others from what he reasonably believed to be a threat of serious injury or death,” Inspector General Robert J. Devlin, Jr. wrote in the report. Lawyers for the family on Thursday released a statement saying they were “deeply disappointed” in the inspector general report and maintain Alexander-Garcia’s death was “completely unnecessary” and the result of “over-aggressive” police work. “Lifting a police dog into the car Mike was in and then jumping into the car created the situation that led Officer Teeter to shoot Mike five times,” according to their statement.