Paul Bass photo
Police Chief Karl Jacobson at Wednesday's briefing along with Asst. Chief David Zannelli, Asst. Chief Bertram Ettienne, department spokesperson Officer Scott Shumway.
Jamie Francheschi planned to stop a speeder. He ended up arresting a man on probation who was speeding around town with an illegal semi-automatic handgun.
Top cops cited that incident as an example of how recent stepped-up efforts to address unsafe driving have also succeeded in taking deadly weapons off the street. They cited the incident during a crime round-up press briefing held Wednesday afternoon at 1 Union Ave.
Francheschi and three other officers — Eric Pesino, Richard Burgos, and Chris Cacela — have been assigned to a “motor unit” augmenting the work of other officers also focusing on dangerous driving.
On Oct. 25 Francheschi was “conducting speed enforcement” with a laser on Whitney Avenue by East Rock Road when he clocked a man driving 46 miles per hour in a 25 mile-per-hour zone.
He “signed for the driver to pull over,” said Assistant Police Chief David Zannelli. The driver sped away instead.
“Francheschi turned off his lights and sirens, pulled to the side of the road and notified dispatch of the situation,” Zannelli said. The fleeing driver, meanwhile, plowed into the back of a passing vehicle a block away, causing minor injuries for the people inside. The fleeing driver was then stuck in traffic, and Francheschi took “him into custody without further incident or use of force.”
It turns out the driver is a convicted felon who was on probation, and he had a semi-automatic .380 caliber handgun in the car, according to Zannelli. He was charged with numerous firearms and motor vehicle offenses.
“We’re working on the dangerousness of driving in this city. Along with that come motor vehicle arrests that lead to gun arrests” and cut down on violence, said Police Chief Karl Jacobson.
Police spokesperson Officer Scott Shumway offered year-to-date statistics that overall reflect progress from 2021.
The city has had 10 homicides so far this year compared to 24 at this time last year, Shumway said. Officers have so far seized 217 “crime guns” including 42 ghost guns, along with 188 firearms-related arrests, compared to 172, 11 and 175 respectively to date in 2021. Nonfatal shootings have increased from 97 to 102 while overall confirmed shots fired have dropped 15 percent.
Click above to watch the full press briefing, which includes discussion of other recent arrests.