By Esteban Hernandez
Register Staff
BRANFORD >> An incident involving a 41-year-old local man who died after being stunned with a Taser  by a town police officer has at least one state lawmaker seeking a more unified standard for use of the devices.
State Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr., D-Branford, said in a statement that he would like to explore Taser policies in the state’s law enforcement agencies. David Werblow, 41, died Sunday after an officer deployed his Taser after police responded to a reported disturbance. His death is being investigated by Connecticut State Police, per standard procedure after a use of force death.

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Read prior coverage:

Branford witnesses: Man hit 3 times with Taser before death

State police: Man dies after Taser use by Branford police

By Evan Lips
Register Staff

While protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, are demanding that a police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager be prosecuted, in Connecticut since 2001, there has only been one case out of 38 completed investigations of police use of deadly force in which an officer faced prosecution.
A Hartford police officer was acquitted in that case.

Michael Dearington, state’s attorney for the judicial district of New Haven, has served in his current role since 1987. In 27 years, he’s never elected to prosecute an officer who was found to have used deadly force in the line of duty in his district.
“All I can say is that the state gives a fair amount of latitude with respect to the use of deadly force,” Dearington said.
“I’ve investigated a lot of cases,” said Dearington, who is the longest-serving state’s attorney in Connecticut. “But I’ve never had enough to prosecute a guy.”

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Read the sidebar: ACLU: 14 deaths in Connecticut since 2005 after Taser use.

Hamden Police Officer Stephen Baris shows his Electronic Controlled Weapon manufactured by Taser at the Hamden Police Department Thursday, April 4, 2013. Photo by Peter Hvizdak / New Haven Register.

By Michael Bellmore
Register Staff
Marcus Brown, 26, of Waterbury died while in police custody May 1, 2011.
He was handcuffed in the back of a patrol car after being apprehended in St. Mary’s Hospital, charged with breach of peace.
Brown was combative and repeatedly kicked the inside door and window of the police car. After issuing a warning, Waterbury police Officer Adrian Sanchez used a department-issue Taser, an electric stun gun, to subdue Brown.
Minutes later, Brown was found unresponsive. After being taken to the hospital emergency room, he was pronounced dead.

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By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor
HAMDEN — A federal lawsuit filed against the town by the mother of David Mills, who died after police subdued him with a Taser stun gun in 2007, was settled this month for $125,000.
Mills’ mother, town resident Judith Ireland, sued the town and Sgt. William Sikorsky in 2007, claiming police used “unreasonable force” on Mills. The suit further claimed the town inadequately trained Sikorsky, who has since retired, in the use of the device.

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