To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Tags:
State officials Friday afternoon released video of a suspect, who is suspected of carjacking vehicles in Hartford and Farmington, and then is accused of stealing a Bristol police vehicle amid a hail of gunfire Thursday afternoon. The police vehicle would end up crashing into a diner in Bristol, authorities said.In the 22-second video posted by the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General, a Bristol police officer is seen firing shots at the suspect in the police vehicle.As a result, state officials said they are investigating the incident as the suspect, later identified as Jimmie Gonzalez, 39, was hit in the leg by a bullet fired by police.According to a statement issued Friday, the Office of Inspector General, Connecticut State Police's Western District Major Crime Squad, the Bristol Police Department, the Farmington Police Department and the Hartford Police Department are all involved in the probe.The incident, according to state officials, started with a carjacking in Hartford; continued with a crash and another carjacking in Farmington on Route 6; then concluded in Bristol with another crash and theft of a Bristol police vehicle at about 12:31 p.m. Thursday.A 27-year-old man suffered minor injuries caused by a knife in Farmington as his Toyota was stolen during the suspect's second carjacking of the day, police said.Bristol officers, eventually, located the Toyota in the area of Quaker Lane in Bristol and the suspect was fleeing on foot prior to stealing the police vehicle, police said.In Bristol, state officials said, Bristol police officer Seth Petzing fired multiple shots at the fleeing BPD vehicle and one bullet hit Gonzalez in the leg.Body camera footage released by the state Friday captured the drama as Petzing fired shots and the stolen police vehicle sped away.Gonzalez, state law enforcers said, drove away from the area and then crashed the police vehicle 2.5 miles away at Palma's Diner on Stafford Avenue, Bristol. The diner was closed as the vehicle went into the building.The suspect was eventually charged with first-degree larceny, though more charges are possible, and he is being held on $1 million bond.