One person was injured in a shooting on Barbour Street Tuesday.
It happened in the area of 290 Barbour St. Police said the male victim was shot in the hip and the injuries are not life-threatening.
The Major Crimes Division is investigating.
The Waterford Police Department wants to make sure they’re protecting some of the most vulnerable in their community – those with dementia.
The department has started a new training program for officers to help them strengthen their relationship with families who are touched by dementia or other cognitive challenges, to better respond when there is an emergency.
“Unfortunately one of the reasons I’m interested in this is I have a very close relative that has dementia. So dealing with that, suffering with that with them,” said Waterford Police Chief Brett Mahoney.
When Mahoney heard about another department’s program that helped better serve those in the community affected by dementia, starting a program of his own was an easy decision.
“Basically you have to learn how they conducted themselves. Were they in the military, do they like being spoken to sternly, given orders? Are they meek and mild, do you have to approach with kid gloves? Nicknames? What did they do for a living? Who were their friends? Where did they go?” Mahoney explained.
Police get that information through interviews with family and a questionnaire. Officers also collect an item with the person’s scent on it, to help in the event of an K9 search. They also have a drone scan the neighborhood where the person lives.
All of this data goes confidentially into their system to better assist officers if a person with Alzheimer’s or any other cognitive issue wanders off.
Six out of 10 people with dementia will wander, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, Connecticut Chapter.
Mahoney says 75 percent of his agency has received training from the association.
“With my mom, she would tend to get a little bit belligerent, and if you came at her with the wrong approach, like, 'hey stop!' that sort of thing, that would be disastrous,” Lisa Cappuccio, Waterford’s Senior Services director.
Cappuccio’s mother had dementia. Lisa was her caretaker. Now she is working with police to encourage everyone in a similar situation to sign up for the program.
“You don’t want to find out how important it is after there’s a crisis or an emergency,” she said.
Mahoney says the program officially launched three weeks ago, and so far three families have signed up. If you live in Waterford and want to be a part of the program, contact police.
A fire damaged two buildings in Hartford and displaced several people Tuesday.
Firefighters were called to a vacant building on Nelson Street around 6:36 p.m. The fire spread to a neighboring building with three units, forcing residents to evacuate.
One person was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported.
The roofs of both buildings collapsed during the fire. Both buildings are now considered uninhabitable.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Eight pedestrians, including a 13-year-old, are hospitalized after a suspected speeding driver drove into them in Sunnyvale, California, police said.
The crash was reported at 6:40 p.m. at the intersection of El Camino Real and Saratoga Sunnyvale Road.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Capt. Jim Choi said the driver, an adult male, is in police custody. Police are investigating the incident as an intentional act due to initial statements made at the scene.
"We have preliminary evidence from witnesses that he was accelerating, doesn't look like he tried to brake at all," Choi said.
Victims' belongings and bicylces lined the path the car took before the driver crashed into a tree.
All victims were transported to local hospitals for treatment and their conditions were not immediately known.
No other information was immediately available.
A man's wife and four children suffered minor injuries after he lost braking power while driving and crashed into a pole in Plainfield on Tuesday night.
First responders were called to Shepard Hill Road around 8:30 p.m. after getting a report of a vehicle that had crashed into a telephone pole.
When police arrived, they said they found a 2004 GMC Denali that had traveled off of the road and hit a telephone pole, which snapped.
According to police, a Danielson man was driving with his wife and their four children when he lost braking power as he traveled down Shepard Hill Road. He said he had recently had a brake job done on his vehicle.
The man was able to lock up his brakes before he drove off of the road and hit the pole, police said.
Officers said the man's wife and four children were transported to Plainfield Backus Emergency Care Facility to treat minor injuries.
Shepard Hill Road near Cady Lane is closed while Eversource crews worked to repair the poles. Officials expect the pole to be replaced by Wednesday morning.
The accident remains under investigation.
A man was taken to the hospital with serious injuries after he collided with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 95 in Norwalk early Wednesday morning.
Firefighters were called to the crash on I-95 around 1:15 a.m.
When crews arrived, they said a Toyota Corolla traveling south between exits 14 and 13 hit a tractor-trailer that was stopped in the breakdown lane.
The driver of the car, who police said is approximately 30 years old, was found lying on the highway. Other drivers were assisting him, according to officers.
The man was treated by firefighters and paramedics and was transported to the hospital to be treated for serious injuries.
The southbound side of the highway was closed for about an hour while crews worked to clean up the debris and remove the vehicles. The highway has since fully ropened.
After days of demands for transparency, the body camera video from a police-involved shooting in New Haven has been released, but it may not tell the whole story.
It's been a week since police opened fire on a red car in New Haven and since then, protesters have been demanding that police release the body camera video. They released the video on Tuesday.
Limited video was released from the Hamden officer's camera because he turned it on after the shooting started, according to police.
Pastors from a local church and others from the community plan on responding to the body camera video. The community leaders are gathering at the First Baptist Church in New Haven on Wednesday.
In the video, Hamden police officer Devin Eaton appears to exit his cruiser. Just as that happens, you can see the driver, Paul Witherspoon, look like he starts to get out of his car.
Within seconds, Officer Eaton runs over to the passenger side window and starts shooting.
The State Police Commissioner said there are indications that the driver was told to open the door and come out with his hands up.
Yale police officer Terrance Pollack also opened fire and the two officers shot at the car with both Witherspoon and the passenger inside, state police said.
State police also played the dispatcher calls and believed the red Honda Civic was involved in an attempted armed robbery in Hamden, but no gun was found in the car.
"Let's just be clear about one thing: he tried to shoot my nephew from the right hand of the car and left hand. Both sides of the car. He was shooting bullets. It's just by the grace of God my nephew is here right now," said Rodney Williams, Paul Witherspoon's uncle.
The passenger was hit by the bullets and taken to the hospital.
According to state police, the investigation into the shooting and what actually happened at the attempted armed robbery could take months.
Both officers remain on paid administrative leave.
The Hamden mayor promised that there will be accountability with the investigation.
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen earlier this year that any conversations about Russian meddling in the upcoming midterm elections shouldn't be elevated to President Donald Trump because he still tied the subject to questions about the legitimacy of his own election, The New York Times reported.
Nielsen became increasingly worried about Russia's sustained efforts in the U.S., but Mulvaney made clear that conversation shouldn't reach Trump, saying it "wasn’t a great subject and should be kept below his level,” a senior administration official told the Times.
"I don't recall anything along those lines happening in a meeting," Mulvaney said in a statement. He added that the administration "will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections, and we’ve already taken many steps to prevent it in the future," NBC News reported.
Special counsel Robert Mueller detailed in his report released last week that multiple advisers said that Trump was concerned that stories about Russian interference cast doubt over the legitimacy of his 2016 win, NBC News reported. Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner on Tuesday also downplayed Russian interference.
A 16-year-old Windsor boy was found dead with several gunshot wounds after a crash in Hartford early Wednesday morning and police are investigating his death as a homicide.
Police have identified the teen as Felipe Lopez.
They found him inside of a crashed vehicle on Albany Avenue shortly before 1 a.m.
Hartford Police Major Crimes Detectives are investigating the homicide.
"The Hartford Police Department is saddened by the loss of life and we will be pursuing every lead to bring justice," Hartford Police posted on Facebook.
Anyone with information is urged to call the tip line at (860) 722-8477.
First Church of Christ in Simsbury had a poison ivy problem, but they did not want to use chemicals around children who go to the preschool on the property, so they looked for something more natural. They found the solution in goats.
“Poison ivy is a treat for goats. It's as if we put a fancy salad with a vinaigrette dressing, that's how they feel about the poison ivy,” Karyn Cordner, a church board member, said. “They're not allergic to it, so it's a great solution to get rid of it and also to preserve the environment.”
Goat scaping is a growing trend in Connecticut and John Mason is supplying his herd of six goats, including Eddie and Tom Brady, from the herd at his landscaping service, John Mason Enterprises, in West Suffield.
He rents the goats out for a week at a time for around $700, which the church is paying for through donations.
Mason sets up a fence and the goats start nibbling away, basically suffocating the poison ivy vines by eating the leaves.
“They'll eat the leaves of the poison ivy, the brush. They'll eat anything that's three-quarters inch or smaller, usually right down to the ground,” Mason said.
The goats can clear about a quarter-acre to half and acre in about six days.
The herd will arrive at the church in Simsbury this weekend.
A crash involving a pedestrian has closed Route 140 in East Windsor on Wednesday and police expect the road to be closed for an extended amount of time.
Police said Route 140 between Rice Road and Harrington Road is closed after crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian.
According to officers, the road will be closed for an extended amount of time. Police did not give an estimate for when the road will reopen.
There's no word if anyone was injured in the crash.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
A 35-year-old woman died when she fell into an industrial-size meat grinder at a processing plant in Northern Pennsylvania.
Jill Greninger apparently fell or was pulled into the machine around 11:30 a.m. Monday, Lycoming County Coroner Charles Kiessling said. A coworker at the Economy Locker Storage Company in Muncy - about 170 miles from Philadelphia - heard strange noises coming from the meat grinder and found her mangled body.
It took firefighters and emergency medical personnel more than two hours to take apart the machine and pull out Greninger's body, Kiessling said.
Authorities say the woman may have been standing on a set of wheeled stairs prior to the fatal accident.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is currently investigating the case, an OSHA spokesperson said.
An employee who answered the phone at the Economy Locker Storage Company told NBC News she wasn't authorized to comment on the incident and that her bosses were unavailable.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Three students from Bulkeley High School in Hartford were taken to the hospital Wednesday morning when they felt ill after smoking marijuana off-campus.
School officials said the three male students had elevated heart rates and went to the clinic at the school and were then transported to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.
The students are OK, according to school officials. They said there is speculation that the marijuana might be laced.
No additional information was immediately available.
An 84-year-old man said he was attacked by a bear while he was sleeping in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles, California.
The man said the attack happened around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday as he slept in the hills off Santa Anita Avenue above Sierra Madre. He told police that he tried to fight off the bear, estimated at 200 too 300 pounds, but as he walked away the animal followed him into a neighborhood, where he sought help.
"He came to a house on (Arno Drive), got behind a gate and waited for the bear to go in another direction," said Officer Grant Cadzow, of the Sierra Madre Police Department.
The man, who said he has been living in the mountains since 2002, suffered injuries to his face and arms. He was treated at the scene.
A bear with a tracking tag on its ear was caught on camera in the neighborhood early Wednesday. It was not immediately clear whether it was the bear involved in the attack.
Not surprisingly, several trash bins in the area had been tipped over.
State Fish and Wildlife agents were called to the location, where bear sightings are not unusual. Bears like to feed on plants, insects, nuts, berries and whatever else they think of as edible -- such as the contents of trash bins. If food is scarce in their natural habitat, bears are likely to forage elsewhere, bringing them into Southern California foothill neighborhoods.
It's extremely rare for bears to attack humans in California, but it's best to follow these safety tips if you encounter a bear on a camping trip or in your neighborhood -- especially if it's a protective mother with her cubs.
Black bears, recognized by their small, narrow heads and small ears, have coats that range in color from tan or brown to black. Females grow up to about 200 pounds and males can be a hefty 350 pounds with some giants weighing in at more than 600 pounds.
California's black bear population has been on the rise over the last two decades, growing from an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 in the early 1980s to between 25,000 and 30,000 -- and that's a conservative estimate, according to the state department of fish and wildlife. They're good climbers who can easily scale a tree if they can't outrun a predator or just need some alone time.
The state has two subspecies of black bear -- the California black bear and the northwestern black bear. About half of the state's bear population can be found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and areas to the north and west. Only an estimated 10 percent of the black bear population inhabits central western and southwestern California.
Like many animals, bears use a combination of sounds and body language to communicate. A head held low below the shoulders is likely an indication of aggressive behavior or agitation, as do snarling, an open-and-closing mouth and bared teeth.
Although it's on the state flag, the fearsome grizzly bear no longer can be found in the California wild. The last grizzly bear observed in California was shot in the early 1920s.
Police are investigating a shooting in New Haven Wednesday afternoon.
The scene is on Division Street near Sheffield Avenue in the Newhallville neighborhood and officers have responded.
No additional information was immediately available.
The parents of Andrew "AJ" Freund, the 5-year-old boy missing from Crystal Lake, Illinois were charged with murder Wednesday after police said they recovered what they believed to be the young boy's body.
Joann Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. were both charged with the death and disappearance of AJ, authorities announced Wednesday, one week after the child was last seen and six days after he was reported missing.
Cunningham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.
Freund Sr. was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated domestic battery, two counts of concealment of homicidal death and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.
Authorities said a body wrapped in plastic was uncovered from a remote location in the northwestern suburb of Woodstock, just miles from the Crystal Lake home where the boy was reported missing.
Police said both parents were questioned overnight and into Wednesday morning after information was obtained during a "forensic analysis of cell phone data."
"Once presented with the evidence obtained by investigators, both Joann and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery, what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject AJ," Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black.
The cause of death was not immediately known and police said it would be determined "at a later date."
"To AJ’s family, it is our hope that you may have some solace in knowing that AJ is no longer suffering and his killers have been brought to justice," Black said. "We would also like to thank the community for their support and assistance during this difficult time. To AJ, we know you are at peace playing in heaven’s playground and are happy you no longer have to suffer."
Wednesday marked one week since AJ's parents said they last saw the child, putting him to bed at their home in northwest suburban Crystal Lake.
The following morning, Freund Sr. called police to report that his son was not in the house and that they had canvassed the neighborhood, went to a local park, checked an area gas station and called his school - but AJ was nowhere to be found, according to the 911 call released Tuesday.
Law enforcement and first responders descended on a large wooded area in Woodstock Wednesday morning. At the same time, police were seen searching the family's home on Dole Avenue in Crystal Lake.
Moments later, evidence technicians brought items from an evidence van into the Crystal Lake police station. Those items included a mattress, a large bin, two large brown bags, and an item that appeared to be a shovel with a long wooden handle.
Police scoured the area surrounding the family's home for days after the boy's disappearance, searching hundreds of acres of land and water before centering their investigation on the house, saying they found no evidence of an abduction.
The boy's parents initially told authorities that they put him to bed at their home around 9:30 p.m. on April 17.
"We have a missing child," the father told dispatchers at the beginning of the 911 call the next morning, later saying they had checked "closets, the basement, the garage, everywhere" in the house to no avail.
On Tuesday, McHenry County State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally urged anyone who may know something to come forward. Kenneally said the worst thing someone could do in the case would be to conceal the truth.
“We will literally be working on this case every day until we find AJ or get justice for him," he said.
Police also asked the public for any video surveillance from the area in the days leading up the time the boy went missing, specifically for video taken between 7 a.m. on April 15 and 9 a.m. on April 18.
"This would include video from home surveillance devices like the Ring Home Security System," police said in a statement Tuesday, asking the public to email jmattson@crystallake.org.
The missing boy's father continued to stay at the family’s home throughout the search, meeting with investigators over the weekend.
"I have no control over what people think," Freund Sr. said over the weekend. "I just want my son to come home, OK?"
Cunningham retained an attorney early in the investigation and was not cooperating with police based on advice from her lawyer, who said she was being treated as a suspect and alleged authorities had stopped searching for the boy - a claim Crystal Lake police denied.
Both parents appeared Tuesday in McHenry County Circuit Court for a custody hearing related to their other son, who was taken into custody by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services the day AJ was reported missing.
The hearing was continued, with the next hearing set for Monday at 9 a.m. CST.
Wendy Brown says it was nearly impossible to get AmeriGas to remove their outdoor tank after she canceled the service. When she couldn’t resolve it on her own, NBC Connecticut Responds did and saved Brown some money.
“It was frustrating.”
Last November, Brown made a service call to disconnect her AmeriGas-owned tank. She said her mother-in-law smelled gas and called the fire department.
“Amerigas came out promptly and shut the gas tank off outside because there was no safety valve in the house,” Brown said.
After the inspection, the service tech determined it was not safe and that Brown needed to get a new gas stove.
Brown learned it would be more expensive than expected.
“He couldn’t put a safety valve in and gave us options that ran $500 and $1200 to replace the lines,” said Brown.
Brown decided to ditch the gas stove and install an electric one.
“I called AmeriGas and asked them to come pick their tank and once that was done I would settle up with them as far as what the payment was supposed to be,” said Brown.
According to Brown, months went by and no one came. But she was still getting a bill, and then a collection notice.
“I immediately went into…what do we do now? There’s no reason for this,” said Brown.
That’s when she contacted NBC Connecticut Responds. An AmeriGas spokesperson told us in part:
“Ultimately, the customer determined that the cost was too high and informed us that she was converting to an electric stove. “Where issues of customer safety and home convenience were concerned, our responses were timely and appropriate. Regretfully, during the busy heating season, there were delays in picking up the AmeriGas-owned tank, which admittedly could have been better communicated to the customer.”
After it was all said and done, AmeriGas picked up the tank and Brown had a zero balance on her account.
“It was nice to finally get a resolution to it because we are getting ready to leave town,” said Brown. “I was amazed, absolutely amazed.”
Advocates like Rogsbert King crowded into the Connecticut State Capitol, Wednesday, fighting to get criminal records cleared automatically, after a period of a few years and after a thorough review.
King was convicted of drug possession with intent to sell and sentenced to nine years in prison in 1989. She's spent the past few years working for non-profit groups with the homeless and those who struggle with addiction and substance abuse. She says finding a job has been difficult.
“Sometimes I would act like I didn’t see the box," King said, regarding to the checked box on an application asking whether the applicant has a criminal record. "I needed to get the interview. Some people would say, you didn’t check this box. Some people didn’t ask me. One person who didn’t ask me actually interviewed me and I won them over.”
The proposal being pushed by Sen. Gary Winfield, (D - New Haven), would expunge, or clear a criminal record form an individual after three years of being clean out of prison.
Winfield says the measure could help stop the cycle of crime in some cities, and even in families.
“If a person has been in our system, they come out, they’re doing everything they’re supposed to do," Winfield said Wednesday. "That affects the child, who later has more chances of actually interacting with our system.
The measure would extend to violent crimes as well, including elder abuse, and drunk driving. Republican Leader Themis Klarides in the House of Representatives opposes the measure.
"Rushing a bill through without taking into account the repercussions of such potential legislation just to appease various voters at the expense of survivors does a disservice to all who live in and visit Connecticut," she said.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is also against the measure, for fear of wiping out recent records for potential repeat offenders.
Winfield says the General Assembly and the general public need to change the way they think about criminals and their crimes. He says if people are clean for several years and they can get better jobs, the odds of them repeating those offenses are slim.
"We traditionally thought about these things in one way and I think it’s time that we radically rethink the way we think about the criminal justice system.”
King says her life would be changed if she could have her criminal record cleared.
"I could go to any school. I can get licensed. And I can be that clinical social worker. And that’s what I’m looking for," she said.
A West Hartford firefighter is being hailed as a hero for his quick actions in another state.
Steeve Parent pulled a man out of a burning car on the side of a Massachusetts highway.
Parent, a firefighter and paramedic for the West Hartford Fire Department, was off-duty, taking a day trip to Massachusetts with his fiance when traffic came to a stop and he saw a car overturned and on fire.
A bystander told him that someone was still inside.
“I ran up to it opened the door and the gentleman was still in there,” Parent said. “I started to pull him out another bystander came by to help me get him out of the car.”
After freeing the driver from the vehicle, Parent and others realized the victim wasn’t breathing. He said he and several others began CPR.
“Shortly after that he started breathing again, stopped CPR, checked his pulse, he had a pulse again, so from that point on we just focused on keeping his airway open and keeping him breathing until the first responders got there,” Parent said.
Word spread quickly back home around the department about the brave actions of one of their own.
“We were extremely proud of the work that he had done, and we're extremely proud to hear his reaction how he was able to take the scene under control and effect a rescue in a very dangerous situation,” said Assistant Chief Hugh O’Callaghan.
Despite not having any protective gear and knowing time was running out, Parent said he just reacted.
“I knew that if I got to him quickly and got him out that the risk was less and that was the only time we would probably be able to get in there and get him out,” Parent said. “You take the chance and you hope that you don't get hurt.”
The driver did survive, but his current condition is not clear.
Dedication, hard work and cash - all could be required of Suffield Public School athletes next year.
According to a written statement from Suffield Board of Education Chair, Sue Mercik Davis, the Board of Finance proposed a budget $480,000 below expectations. Now, a “Pay to Play” proposal is one of several options being considered as an alternative to cutting teacher positions.
“I don’t think paying a fee is appropriate for playing high school Sports,” said Suffield resident Chip Dyer.
Yet, that could be the case. While some Suffield residents might be pushing back, not all disagree with the proposal.
“I don’t have a problem with paying fees for them to participate in sports,” said Umberto Santaniello, “The schools do a lot for our kids and if they need our help, I’m willing to do it.”
Mike Zolciak, whose son plays on the high school baseball team agrees, but wants to understand the proposal more clearly.
“I’d be OK with it,” he said, “but at the same time I would want to know why I’m paying for my son to play high school sports.”
Ryan Anderson , Suffield’s Board of Finance chairman, says the Board of Education’s proposed budget for 2019-20 actually increased by 2.1 percent but was less than what was requested. If approved, A “Pay to Play” program, would require participation fees for athletics and other extracurricular activities.
“It doesn’t really bother me,” explained Diane Ferrari, whose two sons play multiple sports and is accustomed to paying up to $1,000 per year for hockey.
“We always had to pay to play because it’s such an expensive sport,” she said, “so to pay a little more to play baseball not really a big deal to me.”
Suffield held a public hearing Wednesday night, where the entire town budget was reviewed. The vote to finalize the Board of Education budget for next school year will take place May 8.
