COLCHESTER, Conn. (WTNH) — The Office of the Inspector General has deemed that the use of deadly force last year by a state police constable from Colchester was justified, according to a report.
BACKGROUND: Person dies after being shot by officer in Colchester
The shooting happened on April 18, 2024. A tenant called police and said that his landlord, Jared M. Billard, was drunk and had been yelling at cars and waving around knives, the report said. Three constables — Bryan Kowalsky, John Zavalick and Kiruluss Wassef — were sent to the scene.
Billard was in a laundry room in the basement when police arrived, and officers heard what sounded like a shotgun being racked through the door, the report said. Billard opened the door and pointed a shotgun outward, and Wassef fired a single shot, wounding and killing him.
The inspector general determined that Wassef used deadly force to defend himself from what he believed to be a threat of imminent deadly force.
Bodycam footage released in April 2024 showed moments leading up to the shooting. Watch the footage below and in the player above.
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