Bus — & Gun — Were Headed West

Newly minted cop Daniel Evans kept the 212 CT Transit bus in sight. He also kept his distance.

Evans turned to the officer seated beside him to ask: Is this the right move? 

Yes, the officer, Ramonel Torres, told Evans. Keep an eye out. And keep back.

The two were engaged in a training exercise. In real life.

They were patrolling Fair Haven on a Saturday night. A woman had stopped them at the corner of Clay and Monroe streets to report that a man had just threatened to kill another man with whom he was arguing. The threatening man had a gun, she said. He just hopped the Grand Avenue bus bound for Union Station.

Evans hadn’t responded to a gun complaint before. With Torres’ guidance, he would now put into practice his training about how to keep the public, and officers, safe from potential gun violence.

Evans, a 30-year-old former elevator mechanic, graduated from New Haven’s police academy in December. He is in the initial stage of becoming a cop: He patrols with a series of experienced ​“field training officers” (FTO), gradually, over four phases, assuming more responsibility in handling calls before receiving a regular patrol assignment of his own. The rookie begins and ends with the same FTO, and trains with two others in between.

Field training is crucial for preparing officers for the job. Especially these days: Evans is one of 80 new cops who have joined New Haven’s 335-member force since the pandemic hit. They’re filling vacancies amid waves of retirements and resignations at a time of historic transition. How they as a team learn to approach the job will determine in large part how policing is done in New Haven for the next generation. (Click here for a previous story about how some other post-pandemic new officers have taken to the challenge.)

Officer Evans has been getting quick training in handling challenging situations without escalating them.

Q River Conversation

Weeks before that Feb. 18 gun complaint, he accompanied a different FTO to a complaint about a man threatening to jump to his death from the Ferry Street Bridge.

The officers were around the corner when the call came. They arrived to find the man standing by the ledge. Evans watched his FTO that afternoon, Shane Wityak, approach the man. Approach, not rush him. He observed Wityak speak calmly, with concern. He followed suit: ​“We spoke to him like a normal person.”

The man spoke of his distress dealing with financial pressures. Wityak offered to refer the man to programs that could help him. The man asked Wityak for a hug, Evans said; Wityak hugged him. Then the officers drove the man to Yale New Haven Hospital.

Evans’ takeaway: ​“Sometimes all it takes is a casual conversation. We didn’t have to go hands on and tackle him.”

Reasonable Suspicion

On the Feb. 18 drive west on Grand Avenue, Evans kept his eye on the bus. Torres called in details about the complaint; the woman had provided the man’s name and physical description. They waited for more information — such as whether the man in question had a gun permit, if he was a felon.

Evans was now in the third phase of the four-phase field training, meaning he was assuming a roughly 75 percent role of a fully responsible officer.

Torres, who’s 43, grew up in New Haven’s Hill and Fair Haven neighborhoods. He said he repeats to field trainees what he remembered then-Chief Anthony Campbell telling cadets back when Torres was in the academy: ​“Treat everyone as if they’re your family. Treat everyone fair.”

Often an officer can resolve a brewing problem without resorting to physical action. If an officer does need to, say, take a person to the ground, Torres said, keep control. Still treat the person with dignity. Once the person is restrained, ​“Let him wipe off. [Ask:] ​‘You need help? You OK?’ They’re going to have a bad enough day as it is. Why make it worse?”

Evans and Torres were still within a block of the 212 bus when it stopped at Chapel and Orange streets. The officers saw a man step out who fit the woman’s description: shiny puffy coat, grocery bag in hand, and most telling, white Nike Air Force 1 sneakers.

Torres advised: Not yet. They didn’t have probable cause to stop the man. They did have reason to keep an eye on him while they waited for more information.

As predicted by the woman, the man started walking toward Union Station. Evans turned down Orange still maintaining distance.

At the corner of State and George, heading south, the man looked over toward the officers. So Evans turned away, west on George, to circle around until the officers could learn more.

Then a sergeant reported that the man had no gun permit.

So the officers drove to Union Avenue, circled the police station, got out, and approached the man as he came within a block of the Union Station entrance.

The man saw them, and turned to flee in the other direction. The officers caught up with him.

“Hey, can we talk to you?” Torres asked. ​“Do you have any weapons?”

Each officer took hold of one of the man’s arms.

The man denied having a weapon. Torres patted down his jacket. He felt a hard object in the right pocket.

“What’s this?” he asked.

The man admitted it was a weapon.

Evans placed the man in handcuffs. The man didn’t resist. Evans retrieved a .380 Taurus Spectrum handgun (pictured) from the coat pocket. He removed the magazine, unchambered a live round. The gun’s serial number had been scratched out.

The man, who is 25 and lists a Pennsylvania home address, chose not to answer questions about the gun.

The man was taken across the street and arrested on felony charges of carrying a pistol without a permit and illegally altering firearm identification. He was subsequently released on a $150,000 bond and has not yet entered a plea. He could not be reached for comment for this article.

The Playbook

After entering the weapon and magazine and ammunition into evidence at 1 Union Ave., Officers Evans and Torres returned to their cruiser. Evans would write up the report, to be checked over by Torres.

First they debriefed, as they always do after calls. They discussed how they had to wait for more information before stopping the person. They discussed the pat-down. Torres praised Evans for having spotted the man and keeping him in sight.

“I felt accomplished afterwards. It’s not often OIT’s [officers in training] are able to catch somebody with a firearm,” Evans reflected this week in an interview over tea at K&G Deli on Orange Street. ​“We need to protect the city. These guns are used in crimes to hurt people.”

“This is exactly what we want.,” top Fair Haven cop Lt. Michael Fumiatti said of Evans’ recent experiences. ​“The goal of FTO field training is to expose officers or potential officers to a whole host of situations and see how they react. His demeanor in these situations has been impeccable. He has a playbook for what to do should he encounter situations like this in the future.”

Assistant Chief David Zannelli, who oversees patrol, cited the way that Torres parlayed a member of the public’s offer of information into successfully getting an illegal gun off the street and defusing a potential threat: ​“What a great thing for an OIT to see. Now he knows the importance of community trust and what results can blossom from that relationship.”

Evans said he grew up in Queens thinking of one day becoming a cop. His late mother was a New York City police officer, his dad a security guard. His uncle was in the Coast Guard, his sister a Naval chief petty officer. At first, though, he spent eight years working in elevator shafts as high as 60 stories up (“I’m not afraid of heights”), then advancing from mechanic to foreman. Then he decided he ​“wanted to try something new.” He followed his childhood dream, applied to a couple of departments, and took the first offer that came in, from New Haven.

Torres sat besides Evans during the interview. Periodically they paused to listen to reports on their police radios, about shots fired in one part of town, a wanted person in another, then discussed what was going on. Then they both shot a glance out the window at a car passing down Orange Street. Evans took note of the car’s color and make, then called it in: The car resembled one the department had been looking for in connection with a string of catalytic converter thefts. The hope was that one of the city’s new license plate readers might have been nearby to record the car’s tag.

Evans turned to Torres.

“I’m learning from him,” he said.

Previous stories about officers on the beat:

• Shafiq Abdussabur
• Yessennia Agosto
• 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
• Kevin Blanco
• Scott Branfuhr
• Bridget Brosnahan
• Thomas Brunski, Trevor Canace, Nick Samartino, Daniel Smith
• Craig Burnett & Orlando Crespo
• Keron Bryce and Steve McMorris
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia (2)
• Dennis Burgh
• Tyler Camp
• 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
•Natalie Crosby
• Steve Cunningham and Timothy Janus
• Chad Curry
• Gabrielle Curtis, Tyler Evans, Justin Julianelle
• Gregory Dash
• Roy Davis
• Joe Dease
• Milton DeJesus
• Milton DeJesus (2)
• Rose Dell
• Brian Donnelly
• Renee Dominguez, Leonardo Soto, & Mary Helland
• Anthony Duff
• Anthony Duff (2)
• Robert DuPont
• Robert DuPont and Rose Dell
• Eric Eisenhard & Jasmine Sanders
• 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)
• Osvaldo Garcia, Marlena Ofiara & Jake Wright
• William Gargone
• William Gargone (2)
• 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
• Heidi
• Patricia Helliger
• Robin Higgins
• Ronnell Higgins
• William Hurley & Eddie Morrone
• Derek Huelsman
• Racheal Inconiglios
• Juan Ingles
• Bleck Joseph and Marco Correa
• Shayna Kendall
• Shayna Kendall (2)
• Paul Kenney
• Hilda Kilpatrick
• Herb Johnson
• John Kaczor & Alex Morgillo
• Jillian Knox
• Peter Krause
• Peter Krause (2)
• Amanda Leyda
• Rob Levy
•Kyle Listro & Joseph Perrotti
• Anthony Maio
• Dana Martin
• Ashley McKernan
• Reggie McGlotten
• Steve McMorris
• Juan Monzon
• Monique Moore and David Santiago
• Matt Myers
• Carlos and Tiffany Ortiz
• Tiffany Ortiz
• Doug Pearse and Brian Jackson
• Chris Perrone
• Joseph Perrotti
• Joseph Perrotti & Gregory Dash
• 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
• Jason Santiago
• Herb Sharp
• Matt Stevens and Jocelyn Lavandier
• Jessica Stone
• Jessica Stone & Mike DeFonzo
• Arpad Tolnay
• Mike Torre & Ray Saracco
• John Velleca
• Manuella Vensel
• Holly Wasilewski
• Holly Wasilewski (2)
• Alan Wenk
• Stephanija VanWilgen
• Donald White, Brandon Way, & David Santiago
• Elizabeth White & Allyn Wright
• Matt Williams
• Michael Wuchek
• Michael Wuchek (2)
• David Zannelli
• Cailtin Zerella
• Caitlin Zerella (2)
• Caitlin Zerella, Derek Huelsman, David Diaz, Derek Werner, Nicholas Katz, and Paul Mandel
• David Zaweski