4 Cop Shoot-Out Jurors Picked, In Person

A quest began Tuesday to find six impartial jurors to decide the fate of a 34-year-old man who was shot in a confrontation with the police inside a convenience store.

That quest began in Courtroom 6A of the state courthouse at 235 Church St. It was the first jury proceedings to be held in-person there since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Attorneys on both sides — New Haven State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin and criminal defense lawyer Paul V. Carty — took turns posing questions to potential jurors, accepting some and excusing others, in a markedly changed courtroom that reflected the unfinished status of the pandemic. Sheet after sheet of plastic dominated the landscape, dividing the room into individual spaces for the judge, court stenographer, and lawyers. At the beginning of the day, 25 potential jurors were spread out across the room, sitting in every other chair or two shoulder-widths apart on benches. Meanwhile, hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray bottles, and rolls of paper towels dotted the room.

The case involves a Jan. 24, 2018, incident at Krauszer’s Food Store in Hamden. The defendant, Kwaun Cole, is charged with first-degree assault, robbery, and criminal possession of a firearm. The police report states that surveillance footage caught a masked suspect opening the cash register. Witnesses indicate that the suspect opened fire at a Hamden police officer arriving on the scene. The two exchanged further gunfire before the suspect was hit in his right shoulder and fled the store.

Cole, who was arrested nearby and treated for wounds by Hamden firefighters, has pleaded not guilty to all three counts.

Update: Thursday afternoon, while the jury-selection process was ongoing, Cole changed his plea to guilty, ending the trial.

Just before the proceedings Tuesday began, he had a question of his own for Judge Elpedio Vitale: Are masks needed during the entire trial?

Masks should be worn over mouths and noses when people are not speaking, the judge confirmed.

The judge also stated that all staff members and parties involved are vaccinated, Carty said during a break. Though the plastic sheets felt ​“a little weird,” the proceedings on the whole were ​“more or less” back to normal. Still, the court’s backlog of cases, coupled with the slower speed of proceedings, will prove a challenge in the months ahead, he said.

The first round of jury-selection interviews reflected the challenge of finding citizens acceptable to both sides in a case that touches on some of the rawest nerves of the current debates over criminal justice in America.

Know Any Cops?

Tuesday’s proceeding began with two potential jurors. The first, a marketing manager at a mental health nonprofit organization, said that she was ​“nervous” for her first jury selection process. The second, a food manager at a middle school, echoed that sentiment. Each question posed to the women revealed the qualities each side was looking for in a juror.

Carty, noting that his client Cole is a Black man, asked each potential juror, who was white, whether they believed Black men are more likely to commit violent crime than other demographic groups. Both potential jurors responded no.

Furthermore, would either woman’s view on guns affect their partiality during the trial? Each woman said no, though the marketing manager had been raised in a household that supported responsible gun ownership.

Meanwhile, Griffin asked whether the police officers are more truthful than the average citizen based on their profession alone. Again, both women said no.

A follow-up question: Are they acquaintances with any police officers?

The food manager shook her head once more. The marketing manager told the court that her soon-to-be son-in-law is a police officer. The nonprofit she works at also trains police officers to handle mental health issues, she said, though her own contact with them is limited.

With interviews lasting nearly half an hour, questions delved into the potential jurors’ personal lives, ranging from the day-to-day demands of each woman’s occupation to any history of violence in their households. The lawyers were sure to intersperse the harder-hitting questions with some light-hearted ones, like the potential jurors’ hobbies and television habits. (The marketing manager watches Say Yes to the Dress; the food manager likes to read sappy romance novels.)

After ushering each woman into a separate room, Judge Vitale looked to each lawyer for their decision. The food manager was accepted, the court’s first juror in 14 months. At Carty’s request, the marketing manager was not.

By day’s end, around 15 prospective jurors had been questioned in this manner. Only one of the 25 potential jurors in the first pool is Black; he had not been questioned by day’s end.

Four jurors were chosen; as the process resumed Wednesdays.