Bridgeport Police officer who fatally shot man last March was justified: Inspector General

The Office of the Inspector General has concluded that a Bridgeport Police officer who shot and killed Dyshan Best last March was justified.

Bridgeport Police Officer Yoon Heo fired two shots at 39-year-old Best during a foot pursuit on Kossuth Street in Bridgeport on the evening of March 31, 2025.

“Based on my office’s investigation, I conclude that Officer Heo had a reasonable belief that he was in immediate danger of serious injury or death from Dyshan Best and that it was necessary to use deadly physical force to protect himself,” Inspector General Eliot D. Prescott wrote in the report he released Monday morning.

Police were called to East Main Street that day after receiving a report of a large fight. The caller said there was a brawl involving about 30 people and that there were guns out. When officers arrived, they found a crowd of people engaged in a verbal altercation and tried to de-escalate the situation, according to the report.

A man on the sidewalk pointed two officers to men who he said had a gun. They approached a black truck near the men, and Best was sitting in the passenger seat. The truck was about to drive off when Officer Erin Perrotta ordered the men to stop the vehicle and asked Best to step out, the report stated.

“Best stepped out of the truck holding a large bottle of alcohol, a vape pen, and a cell phone,” Prescott wrote in the report. “He immediately began to run from the officers, heading west on Boston Avenue.”

Multiple officers, including Heo, then began to chase Best on foot as he took out a semi-automatic pistol and held it in his right hand. Heo had just arrived when Best started to run, according to the report.

Heo then tried to deploy his Taser at Best, but it didn’t work, the report stated.

That’s when Best turned left onto Kossuth Street, still holding the gun. He then turned into a parking lot, looked back at Heo, and extended his right arm, which was holding the pistol, behind him and toward Heo, according to the report.

Heo then fired two shots at Best with his service weapon, striking him once. Best later died from his injuries, the report stated.

“I conclude [Heo’s] use of deadly physical force was legally justified under Connecticut law,” Prescott wrote in the report.

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