Inspector general says August police shooting that killed woman in Bozrah was justified

The Office of the Inspector General concluded on Monday that two Connecticut state troopers who shot and killed a woman in Bozrah in August 2025 were justified.

On August 9, 2025, 39-year-old Amanda Williams was fatally shot by trooper Noah Blanchette. Trooper Brett Cook also fired a round at Williams, according to the inspector general’s report.

The troopers were responding to a domestic disturbance at a home on Gifford Lane in Bozrah around 7:35 p.m. that day when dispatchers told them that two people were fighting, and Williams pointed a gun at a man, the report stated.

State police saw Williams holding what appeared to be a gun and told her to drop it, but she didn’t, and Sgt. Zachary Cash fired pepper ball rounds, but they weren’t effective, according to the report.

“When Williams raised her gun in the direction of the troopers, Trooper Cook fired one round from his duty pistol and Trooper Blanchette fired two rounds from his service Colt M-4 rifle,” the report stated. “Williams fell to the ground with a gunshot wound to the head.”

Troopers recovered a .380 Ruger handgun from Williams’ hand where she fell, and police provided her with medical aid, then EMS arrived and pronounced Williams dead at the scene, the report says.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy and determined that Williams died of a gunshot wound of the neck with spinal cord injury and her death was determined to be homicide, according to the report.

A toxicology analysis showed that alcohol, cocaine, and cocaine metabolites were found in Williams’ system, the report stated.

“Based on the investigation, I have concluded that the actions of Trooper Cook and Trooper Blanchette were reasonable under the circumstances,” Inspector General Eliot D. Prescott wrote in the report. “I also conclude that their belief that Williams posed an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury to them and others, and that it was necessary to respond to that threat with deadly physical force was objectively reasonable under the requisite legal standard.”

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