Chad Curry knew his German Shepherd Victor was home taking a nap. He didn’t tell that to the man who was holding a gun in his hand.
That man had moments early fired his weapon. Curry had heard the shot and come looking for him. Now, in a backyard on Sherman Avenue, Curry didn’t want the man to fire it at him.
“What are you doing in my yard?” the man asked, agitated.
“Have you seen my dog?” Curry responded.
It proved an effective line. It threw the man off guard and defused a potentially dangerous encounter. It also set the stage for an arrest that would take two illegally-possessed guns off the street.
Curry, a 33-year-old New Haven cop, was off duty at the time. The episode was the latest example of how, on the job or off the job, he has a knack for being at the right place at the right time. And of knowing how to think and act fast, and deliver an effective line.
Officer Fix-It
Curry, the son of a Pratt & Whitney machinist and a SNET phone operator, briefly thought he might want to become an actor one day. That brief moment occurred when he was 10 years old. He was taken with Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks. Then he, like other students at Foote School, had to be in a play. He needed to take a minor role, he recalled, because “I couldn’t remember my lines.”
He didn’t go right into police work after earning a liberal arts degree at Southern Connecticut State University. He helped an uncle fix houses for a few years. He also worked as a mechanic and salesman at College Street Cycles. He was the friendly, outgoing guy, with the seemingly fixed wry partial smile and arched right eyebrow, who taught customers how to lock their bike securely in the city. (Attach the U‑lock to the front wheel and frame; weave the chain lock through the back wheel.)
He eventually pursued a job as a New Haven cop, he said, because he saw it as a way of “helping people.” He started walking the beat three years ago. He has since distinguished himself as a “courageous” cop, observed his supervisor, top Fair Haven cop Sgt. Anthony Maio: “He is always calm and walks with a smile” and has a “play to win philosophy.”
This past week’s encounter in the Sherman Avenue backyard wasn’t the first time he swung into action while off duty. One night in November 2014, he was heading home from work after midnight when he spotted a friend at Whalley Avenue and Dwight Street. He stopped to chat.
Then he heard someone yelling, “Somebody help me! This guy broke into my house!” The yeller had chased a home intruder who was making off with a bag of stolen goods. Curry rushed to the scene, chased the intruder, caught him.
This past Sunday Curry was among the officers who caught an alleged bike thief in Farnam Courts. Another officer, Michael Fumiatti, spotted the man and detained him. Curry, who was nearby, put his bike knowledge to use.
Curry noticed a U lock attached to the bike. A high-end U lock. (The U lock had been attached to the bike, but not in use, when the thief made the theft.) He phoned the Yale doctor who had reported the Cannondale Bad Boy stolen to get confirming information. He asked the doctor to bring the key to the U lock to the scene, to provide further evidence that he indeed owned the bike.
Then he approached the detained suspect.
“It’s my bike,” the suspect insisted.
“How much did you pay for your U lock?” Curry asked him.
“Forty-five dollars.”
From working at the College Street shop, Curry knew the lock cost more than twice that.
The doctor arrived on the scene with the key, which indeed open the U lock. The case was solid.
Quick Response
That arrest happened this past Sunday. The encounter in the Sherman Avenue backyard occurred a day earlier.
Curry was at his parents’ house on Hudson Street at the time, getting ready to report to work for the 4 p.m. B shift. (He lives elsewhere but still crashes there sometimes.) Dressed only in underwear, he was brushing his teeth with Tom’s of Maine Wicked Fresh toothpaste when he heard a gunshot.
He rushed to the window. He saw a neighbor he’s known for 10 years outside.
The neighbor shook his head, “looked kind of spooked,” Curry recalled. The neighbor pointed down the street to a man with cornrow braids. He said that man had fired the shot. Curry got a glance at the man before the man disappeared. The neighbor identified a Sherman Avenue property onto which the man had run.
Curry threw on a blue Nike T‑shirt, jeans, sneakers. He slipped his badge into his pocket. He grabbed his radio as well as his gun, slipping the holster inside his jeans.
He decided to go looking for the man. He knew the property had a trampoline in the backyard. He was worried kids might be around.
He hopped a fence to get a good view of surrounding yards. No sight of the man.
Then he hopped into his personal car, circled the block. He parked near the house on Sherman, walked onto the property.
Just then the suspect “stormed out” of the back door. Right near where Curry was standing.
That’s when, while holding the handgun to his right side, he demanded to know why Curry was there.
And that’s when Curry asked if the man had seen his dog.
He knew had to say something to distract the suspect rather than escalate the tension, he said. “I figured it would work. Dogs get lost all the time.”
Curry said he wasn’t frightened. He didn’t think the suspect wanted to use the gun. The suspect seemed “weirded out that I was worried about my dog, not the gun.”
Curry whistled for good measure.
Curry returned to his car, drove away, radioing in a report.
“Within seconds,” it seemed, Officers Kris Ramirez, Derek Huelsman, Elvin Rivera and Joshua Smereczynsky arrived. Curry was relieved to see them.
The cops surrounded the house. More arrived. The suspect wasn’t in sight. Officer Ron Presley found him. The man was arrested without incident.
The cops also found two guns, a Rohm R638 .38 caliber revolver and an ERA Armentina 20 gauge shotgun. Neither gun was registered to a legal owner. It turned out the suspect, a 20-year-old West Haven man, did not have a permit for the guns, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman. Hartman said the suspect had “a misdemeanor handgun disqualification on file” as well as an outstanding warrant for drug sales. Police charged him with criminal possession of a pistol and carrying a pistol without a permit.
The suspect is being held on $30,000 bond and has not yet entered a plea, according to the state judicial database. His next scheduled court appearance is Oct. 5.
Reflecting afterwards, Curry said he was glad foremost that no one got hurt. And he’s pleased that “two guns that could have killed somebody are off the street. Our city’s a little bit safer.” Thanks to a thespian in blue who may not have always memorized his lines, but can ad-lib with the best of them.
Paul Bass Photo
Read other installments in the Independent’s “Cop of the Week” series:
• Shafiq Abdussabur
• Craig Alston & Billy White Jr.
• Joseph Aurora
• James Baker
• Lloyd Barrett
• Pat Bengston & Mike Valente
• Elsa Berrios
• Manmeet Bhagtana (Colon)
• Paul Bicki
• Paul Bicki (2)
• Sheree Biros
• Bitang
• Scott Branfuhr
• Bridget Brosnahan
• Craig Burnett & Orlando Crespo
• Keron Bryce and Steve McMorris
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia (2)
• Dennis Burgh
• Anthony Campbell
• Darryl Cargill & Matt Wynne
• Elizabeth Chomka & Becky Fowler
• Rob Clark & Joe Roberts
• Sydney Collier
• Carlos Conceicao
• Carlos Conceicao (2)
• Carlos Conceicao and Josh Kyle
• David Coppola
• Mike Criscuolo
• Steve Cunningham and Timothy Janus
• Roy Davis
• Joe Dease
• Milton DeJesus
• Milton DeJesus (2)
• Rose Dell
• Brian Donnelly
• Anthony Duff
• Robert DuPont
• Jeremie Elliott and Scott Shumway
• Jeremie Elliott (2)
• Jose Escobar Sr.
• Bertram Ettienne
• Bertram Ettienne (2)
• Martin Feliciano & Lou DeCrescenzo
• Paul Finch
• Jeffrey Fletcher
• Renee Forte
• Marco Francia
• Michael Fumiatti
• Michael Fumiatti (2)
• William Gargone
• William Gargone & Mike Torre
• Derek Gartner
• Derek Gartner & Ryan Macuirzynski
• Tom Glynn & Matt Williams
• Jon Haddad & Daniela Rodriguez
• Michael Haines
• Michael Haines & Brendan Borer
• Michael Haines & Brendan Borer (2)
• Dan Hartnett
• Ray Hassett
• Robert Hayden
• Patricia Helliger
• Robin Higgins
• Ronnell Higgins
• William Hurley & Eddie Morrone
• Derek Huelsman
• Racheal Inconiglios
• Juan Ingles
• Paul Kenney
• Hilda Kilpatrick
• Herb Johnson
• John Kaczor & Alex Morgillo
• Jillian Knox
• Peter Krause
• Peter Krause (2)
• Amanda Leyda
• Rob Levy
• Anthony Maio
• Dana Martin
• Reggie McGlotten
• Steve McMorris
• Juan Monzon
• Monique Moore and David Santiago
• Matt Myers
• Carlos and Tiffany Ortiz
• Tiffany Ortiz
• Chris Perrone
• Joseph Perrotti
• Ron Perry
• Joe Pettola
• Diego Quintero and Elvin Rivera
• Ryan Przybylski
• Stephanie Redding
• Tony Reyes
• David Rivera
• Luis & David Rivera
• Luis Rivera (2)
• Salvador Rodriguez
• Salvador Rodriguez (2)
• Brett Runlett
• David Runlett
• Betsy Segui & Manmeet Colon
• Allen Smith
• Marcus Tavares
• Martin Tchakirides
• David Totino
• Stephan Torquati
• Gene Trotman Jr.
* Elisa Tuozzoli
• Kelly Turner
• Lars Vallin (& Xander)
• Dave Vega & Rafael Ramirez
• Earl Reed
• Daophet Sangxayarath & Jessee Buccaro
• Herb Sharp
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• Holly Wasilewski (2)
• Alan Wenk
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• Elizabeth White & Allyn Wright
• Matt Williams
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• Caitlin Zerella, Derek Huelsman, David Diaz, Derek Werner, Nicholas Katz, and Paul Mandel
• David Zaweski