Video: Suspect reaches for revolver, points it at Conn. trooper after being hit by car

After multiple attempts to subdue the man with a TASER, the officer shot him when he drew a gun from his pant leg; the suspect had been driving a car implicated in a recent robbery

January 04, 2024 10:53 AM

By Kaitlin McCallum
Hartford Courant

KILLINGLY, Conn. — Connecticut’s inspector general is investigating a Dec. 30 incident in which a state police trooper reportedly shot a man in the chest.

The incident occurred Saturday near 601 Hartford Pike in Killingly, according to a statement from the Office of the Inspector General, at about 1:20 p.m. The office released the officer’s body cam video.

Rhode Island police were looking for a Mercury Marquis registered in Connecticut that had reportedly been used in a robbery. Trooper Joseph Godbout saw the Marquis at a gas station in Dayville, according to the statement. A man identified as Ruben Muller was standing outside the vehicle. When the trooper asked Muller for his license, the man fled toward a Taco Bell.

Godbout pursued and hit Muller with his TASER, according to the inspector general. Muller fell to the ground but got back up and continued running. In the driveway of the Taco Bell, he ran into an approaching pickup truck and fell again.

“Trooper Godbout attempted to TASER Muller again. Muller then reached into his ankle area and pulled out a revolver. At this point, Trooper Godbout fired one shot striking Muller in the chest area. Medical assistance was provided to Muller at the scene,” the inspector general’s office statement said.

Body camera video released by the inspector general shows the man lying on the ground reaching toward his ankle as the trooper holds his arm with a gun pointed at him. Gun fire is heard and a revolver can be seen next to the suspect. The trooper can be heard shouting “shots fired.”

Muller was treated at the scene and taken to Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam before being transferred to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he is currently being treated.

Godbout’s body-worn camera recording is available on YouTube.

The Office of Inspector General, Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad, and the Windham Judicial District State’s Attorney’s Office are investigating.

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