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Family Still Seeks Action In Bridgeport Teen’s Shooting Death

Vanessa de la Torre
/
WNPR
A woman sobs after learning that the state's attorney would not file charges against Officer James Boulay in the shooting death of Jayson Negron

The family of 15-year old Jayson Negron, who was shot by a Bridgeport police officer last May, say they still want action, after an investigation recommended no charges in the case.

Officer James Boulay was cleared of responsibility in the death in a report issued last week by Waterbury State’s Attorney Maureen Platt. Her report followed an investigation by state police.

Negron was driving a stolen car in Bridgeport when he was challenged by the officer. The report says that Negron struck the officer with the car, before Boulay fired.

Speaking on WNPR’s Where We Live, Negron’s sister Jazmarie Melendez said she’s not satisfied.

“The way they treated Jayson, the way that the community is treating Jayson, the way that acting Chief of Police AJ Perez treated my family and Jayson following this entire murder is completely disgusting,” she said. “It’s awful, and I think that we definitely have the right to call him out and ask for him to be removed from his acting position.”

Though there is video from the incident that seems to show Negron was still alive for a time after the shooting, the report concludes that police did call for medical help quickly. Negron was pronounced dead at the scene.

Carolyn Vermont is a community leader and facilitator for Working for a Better Bridgeport, a group that was formed in the wake of Negron’s death. She told WNPR that the community still has many questions.

“We have been so paralyzed by the death of black males across the nation, by law enforcement, and so I think for some when they look at this happening in Bridgeport, they’re still feeling that anger, and that, ‘OK, is this going to keep happening and we can’t really do anything about it,” she said.

Shafiq Abdussabur is a retired New Haven police sergeant and author of A Black Man’s Guide to Law Enforcement in America. He says there is currently no statewide guidance on how officers should handle some of the most controversial police actions

“What we should do now at this point, is what I call the metros -- New Haven, Waterbury, Bridgeport, Hartford, that you establish a universal policy around taser, use of firearms, with police and shootings, around police pursuits, because we know that these are the tricky areas,” he said.

The state’s attorney’s report concludes that the officer reasonably believed the use of deadly force was necessary. Boulay was struck by the car Negron was driving, as the teen attempted to reverse.

The release of the report was marked by peaceful demonstrations in both Waterbury and Bridgeport.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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