Suspect In SUV Refused To Show His Hands And Got Sent To Heaven Instead

The Connecticut Office of the Inspector General released its preliminary report and body camera footage of Sunday’s deadly officer-involved shooting in Ansonia.

Police said officers were conducting a weapons and narcotics investigation at around 5:15 p.m. in the area of Oak Street in Bridgeport when officers tried to make a motor vehicle stop on a Mercedes-Benz SUV.

The driver of the Mercedes, identified as 41-year-old Jonathan Mark Lewis Bell, then sped away northbound on Route 8 through multiple towns and cities, attempting to elude police, the report said.

The pursuit ended when Bell crashed into a home in the 200 block of Division Street in Ansonia. Bridgeport Police Officers Matthew Hoffman, Wilberto Rivera-Colon and Chris Robinson approached Bell and asked him to show his hands.

The preliminary report said Bell refused to show his hands and reached for an unspecified object, which led to three officers firing their guns.

Bell was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by gunshot wounds to his head and torso.