Attorney for man accused in crash that killed CT officer raises questions. Police union pushes back.
The attorney representing the teen accused of running multiple red lights before he struck a police cruiser in Hartford last September, killing Det. Robert “Bobby” Garten and seriously injuring a second policeman, has raised questions about the initial traffic stop that preceded the fatal crash.
Richard Barrington, 19, appeared Thursday in Hartford Superior Court where his case was continued until Aug. 29.
The proceedings drew a large showing from the Hartford Police Department, which included about three dozen officers.
A little more than a half-dozen supporters of Barrington, including his mother, also attended the hearing. They blew him kisses and made heart-shaped signs with their hands as he left the courtroom.
During the proceeding, Barrington’s attorney, Bridgeport-based lawyer Cameron Atkinson, told Judge David Gold this was his first appearance in the case. He requested discovery in the matter, which a prosecutor said would be made available as soon as possible.
Outside the courtroom following the hearing, Atkinson said he has reviewed video from the night Garten was killed and that there are “plenty of questions we have about this case.”
“I would encourage the Hartford Police Department to take a look at their undercover stop procedures,” Atkinson said.
“The car that they were using did not appear to be marked,” Atkinson said, adding that it was not clear from the video whether the officers were in uniform. “That’s why we’re treating it as an undercover stop.”
“There’s a lot of work to be done on this case,” he said.
Atkinson, who said Barrington’s family did not wish to comment, declined to elaborate on other questions he said would need to be answered about the traffic stop. He also said his “thoughts and prayers” are with Hartford police as they continue to deal with the loss of Garten.
“We bear them no ill will,” Atkinson said. “We ask that all parties respect the judicial process.”
The stop he was referring to was carried out by two officers with the South Street Crimes Unit on Sept. 6, 2023, at 10:24 p.m. in the area of 285 Broad St., according to the arrest warrant affidavit. Barrington, who was driving a 2006 Honda Accord, pulled over on the right side of the road after police reportedly saw him run a red light before discovering that the vehicle’s registration was canceled.
Barrington initially cooperated and pulled over, but as the officers approached the vehicle on foot on the passenger side he reportedly sped off, later telling investigators he was scared because the vehicle was not registered, he only had a learner’s permit and that the registration plate on the car had been bought from a friend and did not belong to the Accord, the warrant affidavit said.
Barrington also told police he was worried because he was in possession of a backpack that had marijuana and a scale inside and that he had smoked marijuana about an hour before, according to the warrant affidavit.
State police who reviewed video surveillance in the area wrote in the warrant affidavit that the two officers were in uniform and that they could be seen “calmly” walking back to the cruiser after Barrington took off, the warrant affidavit said. They did not pursue him.
“The traffic stop was lawful,” Hartford Police Union President James Rutkauski said in response to Atkinson’s remarks. “Maybe Mr. Barrington’s lawyer’s judgment of reality was affected by the heat and the fact that his cowboy hat was too small and tight. He might want to seek medical attention.”
State police said video footage reportedly showed Barrington run a red light on Broad Street at the Farmington Avenue intersection and a second red light at Asylum Avenue where he struck a cruiser with its lights and sirens on with Officer Brian Kearney and 34-year-old Garten inside. The officers were responding to an unrelated call for service when they were struck and were unaware that a suspect had just fled a traffic stop.
CT mourns officer killed after fleeing driver strikes police cruiser in Hartford
After Barrington fled the crash, he allegedly told investigators he called a friend and told him he was running from the police, the warrant affidavit said.
Garten, a second-generation police officer who was posthumously promoted to detective, was taken to Saint Francis Hospital and pronounced dead at 11:22 p.m.
Kearney suffered what state police described in the warrant affidavit as “life-altering” injuries, which included internal bleeding that put him at risk of dying. He spent eight days in the hospital before he was released.
Barrington was taken to Hartford Hospital for injuries suspected to be minor. He spoke to investigators at the hospital and said he believed he was going somewhere between 40 and 50 mph during the collision in a 30 mph zone, the warrant affidavit said.
Hours after the crash at the hospital, a drug recognition expert evaluated Barrington and reportedly concluded that his impairment from marijuana made him unfit to drive a car, the warrant affidavit said. Blood drawn from Barrington showed the presence of THC, according to the warrant affidavit.
Barrington faces charges of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, disobeying the direction of an officer resulting in death, driving under the influence, reckless driving and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. He has been held in lieu of $1 million bail since his arrest on Sept. 21, records show.
Barrington has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The family of Garten, a Wethersfield native, was critical this week of the Wethersfield Town Council’s decision not to fly the Thin Blue Line flag in honor of State Police Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier, who was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 84 on May 30.
Garten’s mother, Debbie Garten, said that although the situation about the flag was mishandled by the council, she insisted council members and all of Wethersfield support its law enforcement community.