Brian North, a state police trooper has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a teen in West Haven in 2020, according to an attorney. Find more details about the case.
Trooper Brian North was arrested Tuesday, according to state police. He was placed on leave after his arrest.
North was the trooper who shot and killed 19-year-old Mubarak Soulemane in West Haven after a chase on January 15, 2020.
State police said Soulemane carjacked a vehicle in Norwalk and led police on a chase on I-95 to West Haven. State police were able to box in the car Soulemane was driving. State police body camera video showed a West Haven officer smashing out the passenger door window before another trooper shot Souleman with a stun gun.
Who Is CT Trooper Brian North?
Brian North is a Connecticut State Trooper who was arrested on Tuesday for the 2020 officer-involved shooting death of Mubarak Soulemane in a high-speed car chase on I-95.
Since his surrender, he was placed on a paid administrative leave, and suspended of his police rights and powers, while awaiting his sentencing.
The family of deceased teen Mubarak filed a case and lawsuit for $10 million for the reckless actions taken by trained officers.
They believed that the state of Connecticut and the West Haven Department are guilty of failing to properly address and train their elite officers and for not having a proper inspection or questioning process.
The ACLU initially reported that one of the officers involved in the high-speed pursuit and the shooting was caught ranting racial slurs against Mubarak but this claim was later rejected after a thorough investigation.
On 1/15/2020, Mubarak Soulemane was shot 7 times at 19 yrs old by CT state trooper Brian North. If I wasn’t away at school for the semester, I would’ve heard those 7 gunshots ripping through his body from my bedroom window. A short thread: pic.twitter.com/C4ELV8AUqW
— scorpio moon shorty 🥑 (@Avolyn_Elicia) June 6, 2020
Officer Brian North Arrested For Shooting Teenager Soulemane
State police body camera videos showed a West Haven officer smashing out the passenger door window of the stolen car before a trooper shoots Soulemane with a stun gun, which didn’t work.
Another trooper, Brian North, who is white, then fired his handgun seven times through the driver’s door window when Soulemane displayed a knife, state police said.
Officials said Soulemane struck two state police cruisers and a civilian’s vehicle before troopers stopped his vehicle by boxing it in. West Haven police also responded to the scene.
Brian North has now surrendered himself to the Inspector General of Troop I Police Barracks in Bethany as per initial reports.
The I-95 high-speed car chase and a reported carjacking crime case shocked the nation when the consequences of the pursuit and the shooting death of Mubarak were first revealed.
“Trooper North has been placed on paid administrative leave and his police powers have been suspended, pending criminal proceedings,” state police said.
Following multiple protests from the grieving family of the teenager and the unethical shooting during the surrender process, Brian was suspended from his police duty and put on a paid administrative leave.
Brian North Indicted Of Crime-Charges Explained
Lawyers for his family had asked the state claims commissioner for permission to sue the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and top state police officials including Public Safety Commissioner James Rovella for $10 million.
They also filed notice with the town of West Haven that they intend to sue the town and local police officials for an undisclosed amount of money.
The attorneys and family on Thursday also called on the state to convene a grand jury for a criminal investigation into the fatal shooting.
‘I want justice. I want justice,’ Soulemane’s mother, Omo Mohammed, said in an interview Thursday. ‘I want this policeman to go to jail for killing my son.’
North has now been arrested for his crime and is yet to appear in court. State police have not yet revealed the preferred charges North faces.
A court decision will follow and decide on his penalty, sentencing and charges in details.
