A Middletown police detective was justified when she shot a man multiple times as he attacked her with a hammer and struggled for control of her gun last August, the Connecticut Office of Inspector General concluded.
Inspector General Robert Devlin Jr. released his findings on the shooting Wednesday in a 22-page report that cleared Det. Karli Travis of any wrongdoing when she shot 52-year-old Winston Tate on Aug. 12, 2023.
Devlin wrote that at the time Travis fired her gun, “Tate had rapidly closed the physical distance between them and was actively attacking the officer with a hammer, a weapon capable of causing serious physical injury.”
“Detective Travis reacted reasonably to defend herself. Accordingly, I conclude that under the circ*mstances presented, Detective Travis’ use of deadly force was justified.”
Travis, a seven-year veteran with no disciplinary history, fired her gun “to defend herself from the imminent use of deadly force against her” and acted “objectively reasonable” under Connecticut law, Devlin concluded.
According to Devlin’s report, Travis was working a routine patrol shift when she responded to a multi-family home at 195 Liberty St. just after 6:30 a.m. on the report of excessive noise and glass breaking.
The first of two 911 calls reporting Tate — audio of which was released as part of Devlin’s report — came from someone who said she resided on the floor above him. The caller said Tate was screaming “at the top of his lungs” and “smashing glass in the driveway,” the 911 call shows.
“It sounds like he’s like tearing his house down,” the caller said.
A police dispatcher who informed officers of the situation warned that if the individual was Tate, he had a history of mental health and “causing officers issues,” according to Devlin’s report.
After parking her marked cruiser and approaching the home on foot, Travis immediately saw Tate with a metal object in his hand as he was in an enclosed porch area of the home, according to her statement to investigators.
It was later found to be a hammer that Tate was armed with as he exited the home and began walking toward Travis, body camera footage of the incident shows.
Inspector General releases bodycam footage of hammer-wielding man charging at Middletown officer before shooting
“I could immediately tell Tate’s body language was very aggressive, I observed him puffing his chest and raising his arms as he proceeded in my direction,” Travis wrote in her statement.
The footage shows Travis asking Tate to put the hammer down multiple times. Travis said in her statement that she requested backup to respond “hot” as Tate hesitated at the fence line of the property for a moment.
According to Travis’ statement, Tate began yelling profanities and “words that were completely unintelligible to me in the moment” as he began sprinting toward her.
The body camera footage shows Tate charging at Travis as she screams for him to stop. He can be seen continuing to charge toward her before pushing her to the ground and attacking her, video shows.
Travis wrote in her statement that Tate raised the hammer as if he was going to strike her, leaving her no time to warn him that she was about to use deadly force. After yelling “stop,” she said in her statement that she discharged her gun multiple times as Tate was striking her.
“At one point at the beginning of the incident, I sustained a gunshot injury to my left hand as Tate was still actively striking me,” Travis wrote. “As a result of Tate striking me with the hammer, I was knocked to the ground.”
According to Travis’ statement, Tate then reached for her firearm and a struggle over the gun ensued.
“As I attempted to remain in control of my firearm, I felt Tate’s fingers and hands attempt to slide my fingers from the grip and muzzle as he continued to pull the firearm from my grip. After some time, I gained control of my firearm and freed myself from underneath Tate.”
Travis said she then found herself underneath Tate when he stood up and continued to yell while still in possession of the hammer.
“While he continued to yell, Tate was standing in such close proximity to me as I was still on the ground, it felt as though he was standing over me as I had to look up to observe his face as he continued to display confrontational behaviors,” Travis wrote. “Therefore, before Tate had the opportunity to strike me with the hammer or attempt to gain control of my firearm again, I discharged my firearm until Tate began to back up from my immediate proximity.”
According to Devlin’s report, Tate was struck by at least two of the eight shots Travis fired before he retreated into the residence.
When backup arrived, officers called for Tate to come out of the house, but he remained inside.
Believing Tate could have been injured, officers entered the home and saw blood in several rooms, according to Devlin’s report.
When police entered the basem*nt, Tate fled out of a nearby door and was detained by police. He was taken to Hartford Hospital and treated for gunshot wounds to the shoulder, hand and elbow.
A blood test showed he had alcohol and marijuana in his system, according to Devlin’s report.
Tate was released from the hospital two days later and has been held on $850,000 bond since on assault charges, court records show.
According to Devlin’s report, a family member told police it was believed that Tate was not taking his medication in the days leading up to the shooting, as he was acting strangely and “doing weird things.” A woman who identified herself as Tate’s wife told police Tate is a combat veteran and “was having a mental crisis,” the report said.
According to the report, Tate has previously been convicted of several crimes including robbery, assault, carrying a dangerous weapon and assault on public safety personnel — the last of which he was on probation for at the time of the shooting.
Following the shooting, Travis was taken to Middlesex Hospital and treated for the gunshot wound to her hand. She received several stitches and was also diagnosed with a concussion before she was released.
Earlier this year, Travis was inducted into the National Law Enforcement Officer Hall of Fame for her actions during the shooting. She was among eight inductees recognized during a ceremony in March and was honored with the Courage in Service Award.
“In this case, Winston Tate charged at Detective Travis at full speed and swung a hammer at her, successfully hitting her several times,” Devlin wrote. “Her belief that she was in jeopardy of suffering serious physical injury was objectively reasonable, prompting her use of deadly force to defend herself.”
“Another reasonable police officer in the same or similar situation would tend to draw the same conclusion,” Devlin concluded.
“De-escalation measures were attempted by Detective Travis but they were unsuccessful,” Devlin wrote, adding that her “actions in no way created a situation triggering the use of deadly force.”
