Inspector general says 3 Hartford officers who fatally shot man last year were justified
The three officers from the Hartford Police Department who fatally shot a man last year were legally justified in doing so, the Office of the Inspector General said.
William Bowen, 21, was shot in the area of Homestead Avenue and Magnolia Street in Hartford on the afternoon of March 6, 2025, by Hartford Police Officer Robert Bohm, Detective Benjamin Lee, and Detective Joseph Walsh, Inspector General Eliot D. Prescott said.
The shots fired by Detective Walsh were the rounds that killed Bowen, according to Prescott.
Officers went to the area after noticing Bowen was conducting an Instagram livestream as he walked around Hartford’s North End, displaying what appeared to be two guns. When officers with the Auto Theft Task Force arrived, they said he immediately pulled out a gun, Prescott said.
Officer Bohm and Detective Lee fired multiple rounds, and Bowen ran off into the backyard of another home on Magnolia Street. Bowen dropped the two guns he was holding as he attempted to flee, according to Prescott.
Detective Walsh then drove to Magnolia Street, and Bowen emerged from a narrow alley before running toward the detective. Walsh then fired multiple rounds that hit Bowen, resulting in his death, Prescott said.
A nearby doorbell camera captured Walsh yelling, “Drop the gun. Drop the gun,” moments before he fired, according to Prescott.
“After reviewing the facts revealed by my investigation, I have determined that the use of deadly physical force by each of the three officers was objectively reasonable under the totality of the circumstances,” Prescott wrote in his report. “Accordingly, I conclude that their actions were legally justified.”
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