In March, HPD Officer Thomas O’Connor shoots and critically injures Black Hartford resident Guy Brown, when Brown is pulled over as a possible robbery suspect. Officer O’Connor claims that he shot Brown in the back when his shotgun “accidentally” discharged during the stop.23 While the HPD defends O’Connor’s “mistake” as a tragic accident, outcry from the Black community is quick to call for O’Connor’s immediate suspension and for an investigation into the case.24 Witnesses in the car with Brown recount the officer pulling them over due to claims he was driving a car similar to the one used in a robbery. O’Connor approached pointing his shotgun at Brown, ordering him out of the car. As Brown gets out of the car with his back to O’Connor, the shotgun goes off, leaving Brown with a bullet just inches from his spine. While O’Connor claims it was an accident, community and NAACP members remain unconvinced. 

The internal investigation, carried out by the HPD’s Firearms Discharge Review Board (FDBI), rules unanimously that the Brown shooting was accidental and no disciplinary action should be taken against Officer O’Connor. They deem O’Connor’s “mistake” to be a fault of inadequate training.25 Frustrations grow among community members at the reminder that without a civilian review board, the only formal route of inquiry into police conduct is through the HPD board itself. Five months after the shooting, a group of citizens endorsed by the NAACP examine the shooting of Guy Brown and send a complaint of “wide-ranging discrimination and allegations of police brutality” to the U.S. Justice Department.26 Nothing substantial comes of the NAACP’s complaint.