An investigation in the 2018-19 school year by the state Office of the Child Advocate found police were called roughly 200 times to pre-K through eighth grade schools in Waterbury, often for mental health disturbances, and for incidents involving children as young as 4 years old. Waterbury has recently received criticism around the policing of its schools. “I saw them arresting a lot of kids, but I also saw some of them interact positively with kids,” she said. She preferred to avoid interacting with police, but said some of her peers had a range of interactions including some that were positive and some that were negative. “It can be a very traumatic thing to witness your peers getting arrested.” Even in middle school, I kind of felt a little anxious,” she said. “As a person of color, I felt very wary of. Narlin Chimbo Once, a former student in the district who graduated in 2021, said the school resource officers who carry out the arrests in schools made her uneasy. Waterbury has consistently reported far more arrests than any other school district since at least the 2017-18 school year, according to state data. The Connecticut Technical Education and Career System had the next highest number of arrests, with 90. Superintendent Verna Ruffin said the number the school system reported to the state previously was lower than the police department’s internal figures because it didn't include some arrests off-campus, such as at bus stops, on buses, or at school events. State data shows Waterbury Public Schools reported 235 school-based arrests in the 2021-22 school year, while Waterbury police data shows there were 283 school-based arrests – more than one arrest for every school day. It’s a problem that’s been happening for years, but now district leaders and the local police say recent policy changes should reduce the number of arrests. Waterbury School District has more student arrests than any other district in the state. The deceased suspect, Emmanuel Galaviz Campos, was wanted on felony warrants and considered a person of interest for a recent homicide. “Tactical activations are purely reactive, we’re reacting to events emerging within our community, and responding to the requests of field services, personnel and detectives.”ĪPD released the identity of the man who shot an officer and was killed during an exchange of gunfire. And that’s the results you’re seeing is this increased activity,” said Ken Willy, deputy commander of APD’s Tactical Division. “We’re doing as much as we can to support other units with an agency, and support our community the best way we can. Leaders told KOB 4, on average, 40 members of law enforcement respond to these activations. So there’s always a risk, but it is increased as we become more and more proactive,” said Medina. Sometimes these individuals make rash decisions. “We are pushing our officers to become as proactive as possible as you’re going after some of the worst of the worst, and these individuals know they have pending warrants, and they’re gonna go to jail. Medina talked about the connection between these activations and the department’s effort to clear the warrant backlog. They respond to the situation based on how the suspect acts, and provide necessary support to other divisions. Leaders said situations exactly like this were very possible because the tactical division is purely reactive. On Wednesday, KOB 4 talked about APD’s Tactical Division, and how they’ve had an active year with 54 SWAT callouts so far. Southbound lanes of Tramway were shut down for several hours during the investigation, but they have been reopened. He says police are still figuring out exactly how many shots were fired during the incident. Medina says it appears a second officer was shot in the leg, but was protected by bulletproof gear. Obviously, that proved out today, that’s the reason SWAT was involved,” said APD Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos. “These are warrants for dangerous individuals, so these aren’t just any felony warrants. Police leaders noted these large-scale operations are sometimes necessary for the suspects they’re trying to arrest. He was also a person of interest in a recent homicide in Albuquerque, but he wouldn’t say which one. Medina says the suspect’s warrant was connected to a gun-related incident in Santa Fe. There were a dozen police units, armored trucks, and other vehicles. Medina confirmed officers killed the suspect.Ĭhopper 4 video showed the size of the scene early Thursday afternoon. “As officers were attempting to make entry into the home, the individual opened fire on the officers, and at least two officers returned fire at this time,” said Medina. Once officers got to the complex, the suspect’s family members reportedly alerted police he was inside an apartment with a 2-year-old child, who was potentially in danger. Medina says officers were searching for a man who had a violent felony warrant.
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