Evidence
The Office of Inspector General, together with the Manchester Police Department, Hartford Judicial District State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad, are investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred during the early morning hours of October 25, 2025, on Interstate 84, westbound, in East Hartford, CT. Based on a preliminary investigation, the following facts have been ascertained: At approximately 1:42 a.m., Manchester Police Officer Israel Rivera conducted a traffic stop at 335 Center Street in Manchester on a Lexus sedan for an alleged motor vehicle violation, misuse of a marker plate. After briefly speaking to the driver, later identified as Samuel Lee, age 39, the Lexus sped away, while almost striking another police cruiser that had arrived at the scene. Several Manchester police officers, including Officer Kyle Busse, then pursued Lee, who at times drove his vehicle at 70 miles per hour to evade police. Manchester Police Sergeant Kyle Zemanek positioned his cruiser near the I-84 westbound on-ramp on West Middle Turnpike in Manchester. Zemanek deployed stop sticks at the entrance to the on-ramp just before the Lexus attempted to access I-84 westbound. When Lee drove over the stop sticks, several of his vehicle’s tires were punctured. The officers then continued to pursue the Lexus onto I-84 westbound towards East Hartford. Lee drove his Lexus onto the right side of the highway just past the I-384 interchange. Lee then rolled down his driver’s side window and fired multiple rounds from a handgun at the pursuing officers. At least one cruiser was struck by gunfire. Officer Busse returned fire from his service firearm. One round struck Lee in the right hip. Lee then operated his vehicle down to I-84 until his vehicle came to rest on the left side of the highway near the Jersey barrier, just beyond the Forbes Street overpass. Lee then surrendered to the officers on scene, who rendered him emergency medical treatment until he could be transported to Hartford Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Officers observed a firearm on the driver’s side floor of the vehicle, which can be seen on the body-worn camera video of one of the officers.
The officers involved in the pursuit and apprehension of Lee captured the incident on their body-worn cameras (BWC) and/or the dashboard cameras on their cruisers. Link shows the videos, Officer Zemanek’s dashcam video, including what appears to be Lee firing from his Lexus, click here. To view, the relevant portion of video taken by Officer Busse’s BWC, including him returning fire at Lee, click here. Lee, whose last known address is in Manchester, has six outstanding rearrest warrants from various jurisdictions. He remains hospitalized. With respect to this incident, an arrest warrant for Lee has been obtained by the Hartford State’s Attorney for various felony charges, including, but not limited to, criminal attempt of assault in the first degree. The investigation is continuing.