Retired Conn. officer acquitted of manslaughter in 2005 on-duty shooting; families angry

Conn. ex-cop acquitted of manslaughter, assault

HARTFORD, Conn. — A now-retired white Hartford police officer was acquitted Tuesday of manslaughter and assault for shooting two young black men in 2005, provoking anger from the victims’ families and prompting a call for peace from the city’s mayor.

Robert Lawlor opened fire on a speeding car, killing 18-year-old Jashon Bryant and wounding now-26-year-old Brandon Henry, who is also black. Lawlor told authorities that he thought Bryant had a gun and that he was forced to shoot at the car when it hurtled toward a federal agent. No weapon was found.

“We need to remain calm and be supportive of our young people, our families, and of those who are sworn to serve and protect,” Mayor Eddie Perez said in a statement. “Right now there needs to be one voice for Hartford and that is one of peace.”

Bryant and Henry’s families were inconsolable after the verdict, screaming about what they called a miscarriage of justice. Extra police officers were called to the courthouse, and the road outside the building was blocked off.

Henry’s mother, Bernetta, was taken from the scene in an ambulance after she was overcome with emotion.

“I knew what the outcome was, and (Lawlor) knew what the outcome was,” she said. “That’s why he was so smug coming into that courtroom. They put our community on trial. The whole North End of Hartford was on trial. Robert Lawlor was never on trial here.”

Keith Thomas, Bryant’s father, said the message he got from the verdict is that using a gun is an acceptable way to solve disputes in Hartford. Three years ago, he approached Lawlor during a court appearance and allegedly used a racial slur. Thomas was charged, but prosecutors decided not to pursue the case.

“My son’s sitting in a cemetery, my only son, and they wonder why I had the attitude I had,” Thomas said. “You’re not going to hurt me anymore.”

Lawlor did not apologize, but told reporters that he considers the shootings a tragedy. He said he was only trying to protect himself and his partner.

“Being sorry to me, my personal belief, would be admitting some sort of wrong doing,” he said. “I did nothing wrong.”

After the verdict was read, Lawlor was confronted by the victims families while walking to his lawyer’s office. Bryant’s sister asked Lawlor to acknowledge he made a mistake.

“No mistake made,” Lawlor replied.

Thomas then put his hand on Lawlor’s chest.

“You got away with a crime,” Thomas said. “I don’t know how I feel about you. You devastated my family.”

Lawlor invited members of the family into his lawyer’s office for a meeting, which two of them accepted.

Lawlor, a 17-year veteran of the Hartford Police Department, was working as part of an anti-gun task force on the night of the May 2005 shootings.

Bryant was sitting in the passenger seat of Henry’s parked car when Lawlor and the federal agent approached the vehicle. Lawlor has said he believed he saw Bryant with a gun, and that he opened fire to protect himself and the agent when Henry drove directly at them.

Police conducted an extensive search for a weapon, but never found one. Henry testified that he tried to speed away because he had drugs in the car, but that neither he nor Bryant had a weapon.

Bryant was killed instantly from a gunshot wound to the head. Henry was shot once in the chest, drove off and continued for several blocks before crashing into a parked car.

Waterbury State’s Attorney John Connelly recommended in May 2006 that Lawlor be charged with manslaughter and assault. The case was then turned over to New Haven State’s Attorney Michael Dearington, and the charges were filed after a grand jury found there was sufficient evidence to prosecute Lawlor.

Lawlor did not take the stand at trial, but his grand jury testimony was read into evidence.