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A Tragic Mistake in New Britain
By Robert L. Murphy III
When I first heard about the tragic police shooting of a young New Britain man on July 23, "He got what he deserved" ran through my mind. But if the account later that week in the New Britain Herald holds any truth to this tragedy, I should be ashamed of myself.
After the September 11 terrorist attacks, arming New Britain police with high-powered AR-15 machine guns made good sense to me. But I never dreamed the New Britain police would use this kind of power for a domestic situation; police rifles should only be used from a distance to kill if a person’s life is in jeopardy. If holding an automatic machine gun during face-to-face negotiations is police procedure, then this needs to be addressed.
The Herald quoted State Police Sgt. J. Paul Vance, who said that that the New Britain officer had only a "split second" to make a decision as Anthony Newfield charged with two knives. I don’t mean to place a human being’s life in the same category as a deranged, out-of-control animal, but when was the last time anyone heard of an animal control officer using a machine gun on a charging attack pit bull? It makes you think.
Maybe we need to sacrifice the powerful rush of holding a fully automatic AR-15 machine gun for advanced long-distance electrical tasers, pepper spray, beanbag guns—and, most importantly, professional negotiators. The account in the Herald indicates that police knew of Anthony's past. Having this valuable information, New Britain police should have brought in a professional negotiator, and perhaps a life may have been saved.
Anthony Newfield made a mistake. We all make mistakes, New Britain police being no exception, but Anthony Newfield is now unable to correct his. God rest his soul.
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