Family of Man Fatally Shot by Connecticut Police Officer Files Lawsuit, Calls for Federal Investigation of Department

HARTFORD, Conn. — A man was shot and killed by a Connecticut police officer while trying to escape in a stolen car while being savaged by a police dog. His family has now filed a wrongful death case and asked the federal government to look into the department’s civil rights violations.

At a news conference, Mike Alexander-Garcia Jr.’s mother and sister spoke out against the officer’s actions and said they thought West Hartford police were profiling people of color in the August 2023 incident that ended in death. They said they want justice and to be held responsible.

In a statement, his mother, Jacqueline Garcia, said, “To the officer who killed my son, you can’t understand the pain and loss you have caused our family.” “I hope that this tragedy can lead to thought and change so that no other family has to go through the pain we are.”

Alexander-Garcia sued West Hartford Officer Andrew Teeter, the police department, and the town in state court last week. The lawsuit says they violated her constitutional rights, state laws, and police rules and procedures. Alexander-Garcia’s family lawyers told the town that they are suing for losses that could be more than $75 million.

The state inspector general’s office is still looking into the killing. This office looks into all deadly police actions across the state to see if criminal charges should be brought.

West Hartford said in a statement that it was waiting for the final report from the inspector general.

Police in West Hartford are expected to be open and answerable, wrote the town’s corporation attorney, Dallas Dodge. “At this point, a lawsuit makes claims that haven’t been proven, and it’s important to remember that the Office of Inspector General is still looking into this.”

Teeter didn’t answer an email asking for a response.

Police said the events started on August 8, 2023, when a license plate reader told them about a stolen car. As the police chased the car, it hit two other cars and stopped working. Police said they caught the person driving the stolen car, but Alexander-Garcia escaped.

Police say that 34-year-old Alexander Garcia then tried to steal two cars before breaking into a tire shop and getting into a fixed SUV.

Surveillance, dashboard, and body camera footage show that Teeter ran into the store, threw his police dog out the open passenger door window of the SUV, then opened the door and told the dog to attack Miranda.

Alex Garcia was in the driver’s seat yelling “Please!” when the dog bit him. “Don’t kill me!”

Teeter was in the back seat with the dog when the SUV pulled out of the service bay, turned, and started to drive away. It went past a stopped police car and a tree. Teeter shot Alexander-Garcia several times in the back after telling him several times, “Don’t do it” and “I’m going to shoot you.”

The SUV hit a power pole and broke. Alexander-Garcia’s lawyers said Teeter fired three of the five shots after the car hit the pole.

Peter Bowman, a lawyer with BBB Attorneys who is helping Alexander-Garcia’s family, said, “Mike was giving himself up to the police when he was shot.” “He begged the officer to save his life, but Officer Teeter shot him five times anyway.”

The police dog was not hurt, but Teeter was taken to the hospital with a broken rib and cuts on his head.

The claim says Teeter didn’t give clear instructions to Alexander-Garcia and broke department rules when he threw the police dog into the SUV and got inside instead of trying to calm things down. Aside from that, it says Alexander-Garcia’s acts did not call for deadly force.

Alexander-Garcia’s lawyers asked for a federal civil rights probe by citing yearly state reports on traffic stops by police across the state. These reports showed that West Hartford police stopped more minority drivers than white drivers. Alexander Garcia was Latino. It has not been said what race or culture Teeter is.

Another lawyer for Alexander-Garcia’s family, Ken Krayeske, said that the police department hasn’t done enough to fix the problems with the uneven traffic stops, even though they have the data. He said that the U.S. Attorney General’s office and the Department of Justice have been officially asked to look into the matter.

The state reports show that there are differences in the number of traffic stops based on race and culture, but they also say that the data doesn’t show that people are being profiled because of their race.