Armed Man Arrested
At Batman Movie

A New Haven lawyer said he had every right to carry a loaded .40-caliber pistol into a Batman movie in downtown New Haven Tuesday night. Mayor John DeStefano said he shouldn’t be able to.

The remarks came at dueling press conferences Wednesday afternoon following an incident Tuesday evening at Criterion-Bow Tie movie theaters on Temple Street, where police arrested a lawyer who had carried a gun into the theater.

Sung-Ho Hwang (pictured at left), a 46-year-old lawyer and president-elect of the New Haven County Bar Association, was arrested Tuesday night at an evening showing of the latest Batman movie at the Criterion. Three patrons saw him carry a gun into the theater and— on the heels of a mass shooting at an Aurora, Colo. screening of the same movie last month — called the cops. They swept into the theater and charged Hwang with breach of peace and interfering after he allegedly refused to obey orders to show his hands.

Hwang was carrying a gun in a holster at the small of his back. He has a permit to carry the gun and said Wednesday afternoon that he had done nothing wrong.

At a 4 p.m. press conference Wednesday, Mayor John DeStefano and Police Chief Dean Esserman stood behind the cops and condemned Hwang’s behavior. DeStefano said people shouldn’t carry guns into dark movie theaters.

“Just because something is legal, doesn’t make it right,” DeStefano said.

The mayor called for a citywide discussion about gun control. He called for a change in state law to let New Haven ban guns in certain public spaces, such as theaters and churches.

“Do we need guns in theaters? Do we need guns at Batman?” DeStefano asked.

“We don’t expect anyone to go into a theater with a gun — or into a bar — or into a church, a mosque or a temple,” DeStefano said. ​“We ought to reflect on some behaviors that are clearly legal,” but that do not reflect the ​“values” by which New Haveners want to live.

“There is no posting at Criterion that states that weapons are not permitted,” Hwang said, reading from a prepared statement at a 3:30 p.m. press conference at his law office on Audubon Street. ​“As far as the law is concerned, I have a right to carry there.”

“I normally do not carry, but I live in downtown New Haven and the movie was getting out at 1 a.m., so I felt that I should protect myself since I was alone,” he said.

Hwang went on to say that he does not think the moviegoers did anything wrong by calling cops, especially in the climate of ​“heightened security” following the mass shooting at a Colorado showing of the Batman movie last month.

Hwang summoned the Second Amendment, which covers the right to bear arms. ​“When baseless breach of peace charges are brought against people that have a right to carry, it really threatens our Constitutional right to bear arms.”

He then sought to refocus the conversation on public safety in New Haven. ​“Why do law abiding citizens feel they need to carry a weapon? … Why is New Haven considered the murder capital of Connecticut? Those are the real issues here.”

“I don’t know how to solve his perception of safety,” Mayor DeStefano later replied.

DeStefano called for the city to ​“step back, think about what happened last night,” and consider lobbying the state legislature for stricter gun control laws. He suggested the state set up a gun offender registry that would help cities track people convicted of gun crimes.

He said New Haven should follow the lead of Washington, D.C. and New York City in restricting the carrying of guns.

“I don’t see how carrying a gun into a movie theater is necessarily a protected right,” he said. ​“We could regulate this more.”

State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, who attended the press conference, said he believes ​“people have the right to have a gun,” but he would be ​“open to the concept” of restricting people from carrying them in certain places.

“Show Your Hands!”

Here’s what happened Tuesday night, according to police spokesman David Hartman:

At 10:11 p.m. Tuesday, nearly 20 officers and two sergeants responded to the Criterion-Bow Tie movie theaters on Temple Street, where staff had reported a man with a handgun was inside one of the theaters.

An usher told cops that at least three movie-goers had said that a man had an unconcealed gun in his waistband on his back.

Cops first searched Theater 2, which was showing ​“The Watch.”

Officers then moved to Theater 1, which was showing the latest Batman movie, ​“The Dark Knight Rises.” That’s the movie that was debuting in a Colorado movie theater last month when a man opened fire with several guns and killed 12 people while injuring nearly 60 others.

The movie had not yet started when police entered the theater Tuesday night. The lights were up and about a dozen people were seated, watching previews.

“Patrons were told to raise their hands and file from the theater,” Hartman said. ​“As they exited they were patted down and escorted outside.

“Officers identified the suspect and with weapons drawn, ordered the suspect to put his hands up. He remained in his seat while using his cell phone. He did not comply with the officers’ commands, and was taken into custody by force. Officers removed a loaded handgun from the suspect’s waistband at the small of his back.”

Lt. Jeff Hoffman said police shouted, ​“Show your hands!” multiple times. Hwang refused to comply and continued to talk or text on his cell phone. He did not resist after cops grabbed him.

Other theater patrons reportedly urged him to cooperate with police when he allegedly ignored them.

The 46-year-old New Havener had a valid permit to carry a pistol. He was arrested on charges of breach of peace and interfering with police.

It was a ​“bad choice” to bring the gun to the theater, said Hartman. But packing a loaded pistol to the picture was not by itself illegal. It was Hwang’s ​“unwillingess to comply that turned it into a crime,” Hartman said.

The arrested man does not have a criminal record. He has two guns legally registered, Hartman said. The gun he had on him was a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, said Lt. Hoffman.

Police Chief Dean Esserman praised the ​“speedy and tactful response” of his officers and ​“thanked each individually for their professionalism.”

Hartman said all of the officers on the scene played an important role. Officer Daniel Hartnet was the first inside. Sgt. Rob Criscuolo and Officer Leonardo Soto made the arrest.

After the arrest and a quick check of the theater by police, moviegoers returned to their seats and watched the movie, Hartman said. He said police will be posted at upcoming showings of the Batman movie.

“He Cooperated”

Hwang was released on a promise to appear in court. He did not come into work on Wednesday morning, according to the receptionist at his Audubon Street office.

Attorney Keefe (pictured), a noted New Haven defense lawyer, said Hwang is his client.

“My client had a permit to carry,” Keefe said. ​“He was perfectly within his rights within the law.”

“Chief Esserman decided that he was going to be arrested.”

Esserman later denied that charge. He said he arrived at the theater after the arrest took place.

Asked what happened in the theater, Keefe said only that people shouldn’t simply believe the police account. ​“You can’t accept everything they say.”

He declined to describe the incident further. ​“I can’t tell you because it’s a court matter.”

At the Wednesday press conference Keefe’s colleague Charles Tiernan (pictured) said that Hwang had cooperated fully with police. ​“He did everything that the law requires. He absolutely cooperated.”

Asked about the police report that Hwang had refused to comply, Tiernan said, ​“You’re getting the police take on it.”

“The police arrived, they told him what to do and he did it,” Tiernan said.

Concealed Or Unconcealed

Chief Esserman said because Hwang had a permit, he had the legal right to carry his gun — even without concealing it. The relevant law is here.

Under the carrying permit Hwang had, the gun is ​“supposed to be covered, but does not have to be covered at all times,” Esserman said.

“Connecticut is generally an open-carry state. We’re not a concealed carry state,” said Wallingford attorney Craig Fishbein, a lawyer with some gun-law expertise. Permitted gun owners can carry a pistol on their hip just like a cop, Fishbein said.

Most people don’t realize that’s the case, Fishbein said. The result is that people are sometimes wrongfully arrested for legally carrying visible handguns, he said. He cited a couple of recent cases in which gun-owners were arrested for carrying guns in the open. In one case, in Wallingford, a man was arrested outside a pool hall for openly carrying a gun. He was arrested for breach of peace. The prosecutor threw out the case and the man is now suing the town, Fishbein said.

Fishbein said that based on what he had read and heard about Hwang’s arrest, the incident could result in Hwang suing the city for wrongful arrest.

Attorney Karen Torre also questioned the arrest, based on the preliminary information she had heard about it. ​“Honestly, I don’t see a crime there.” Hwang had a permit and he was not obligated to do anything the police ordered him to, she said.

“So he didn’t show his hands. That’s not a crime,“she said. ​“That sounds like a shaky arrest to me.”