CT state trooper pleads not guilty to deadly shooting of Mubarak Soulemane

MILFORD — The state trooper charged with manslaughter in the on-duty shooting of New Haven resident Mubarak Soulemane pleaded not guilty in the case Thursday.

With nearly 20 supporters seated behind him in the courtroom — and several members of Soulemane’s family sitting on the opposite side — Brian North stood before Judge Peter Brown as his lawyer, Frank Riccio, entered the not guilty plea on his behalf.

The judge continued the case to a remote hearing Aug. 2 and a court appearance Sept. 15.

North, who was previously arraigned in Superior Court in Milford in May, left the courthouse without commenting as Rev. Kevin McCall, a spokesperson for the family, led supporters in chants of “No justice, no peace,” “Fire Brian North,” and “Justice for Mubarak.”

Soulemane’s mother, Omo Mohammed, said the state trooper belongs behind bars for the Jan. 15, 2020 shooting of her son in West Haven after a high-speed chase on Interstate 95.

“I want Brian North to be held accountable for killing my son,” she said outside the courthouse. “I want Brian North to go to jail for killing my son, for massacring my son. That’s what justice is for.”

Riccio said it would take “some time” for he and other lawyers representing North to review and analyze evidence in the case.

“He is working together with his legal team and working through this,” he said of his client.

Attorneys representing Soulemane’s family, Sanford Rubenstein and Mark Arons, said Thursday’s hearing was a first step in the family’s quest for justice.

“We believe that after the jury or the judge is shown the video in this case, pictures of the truth, it will be clear that this was an execution,” Rubenstein said. “We look forward to the trial.”

Arons said he hopes the case — the first prosecution of a Connecticut law enforcement officer for a line-of-duty shooting in 17 years — will “send a shockwave across the country to once and for all change policing culture so that shooting is not the first item on the list, it’s the last resort.”

TIMELINE: The investigation into the CT state police shooting of Mubarak Soulemane

The series of events prompting the case unfolded on Jan. 15, 2020, when Soulemane went to Norwalk following an argument with his brother, according to a report from Inspector General Robert J. Devlin’s report.

Soulemane, 19, suffered from schizophrenia, his mother told investigators. His girlfriend told the state Department of Criminal Justice that Soulemane had become “erratic, paranoid and disorganized” in the days prior to the shooting.

Soulemane, who grew up in Norwalk, pulled a knife while at an AT&T store on Main Avenue, the report stated. Soulemane left the store and got into a Hyundai operated by a ride share driver, according to the report.

The driver got out of the car at a nearby gas station after a confrontation with Soulemane, the report stated. Soulemane then stole the car and headed up Interstate 95 where state police engaged in a high-speed pursuit, according to the report.

MAP: Tracing the police chase that ended in Mubarak Soulemane’s death

The pursuit was captured on dashboard camera footage from responding troopers.

Soulemane exited the highway at Exit 43 in West Haven, striking a Chevy Trailblazer, according to the report.

Troopers Ross Dalling, Joshua Jackson and North “effectively blocked-in” the vehicle on Campbell Avenue, according to the report.

“Jackson ordered the driver out of the car, but received no response. He later said that the driver seemed ‘out of it.’ Jackson then proceeded to the passenger side. North took a position at the driver-side window and Dalling was to the rear. North directed Jackson to use his Taser. West Haven Police Officer Robert Rappa smashed the passenger side window using Jackson’s police baton. Jackson then deployed his Taser through the broken out window toward Soulemane. Rappa yelled, ‘he’s reaching!’ Soulemane then moved his arm upward holding a knife pointed toward the ceiling of the car,” Devlin wrote in the report.

North fired his service weapon through the driver-side window into Soulemane’s chest, Devlin wrote in the report, then yelled ‘drop the knife.’

In a statement, North later told police he saw Soulemane’s “eyes open wide” as Rappa shattered the passenger-side window. He said he believed Rappa was attempting to enter the vehicle at that time, the report stated. North said he saw Soulemane quickly move his right hand into his pocket and remove a knife, then “abruptly move in the driver’s seat,” the report stated.

VIDEO: Body camera footage released by state police

“The suspect was moving and holding the knife in an aggressive manner, and appeared to me to be preparing to attack either (Trooper) Jackson or the West Haven officer. Based on these circumstances, I believed that (Trooper) Jackson and the West Haven officer were at imminent risk of serious physical injury or death, and could have been stabbed in the neck or face as they attempted to enter the vehicle and remove the suspect. As a result, I discharged my duty firearm to eliminate the threat,” North said.

Rappa later told investigators that he had broken the window “to open a line of communication with Soulemane” and allow for the use of a Taser. He said he had not intended to enter the vehicle, the report stated.

After a two-year investigation, Devlin determined that neither Rappa nor Jackson were in danger at the time and deemed the use of force unjustified.

“Soulemane was in the driver’s seat of the Hyundai and they were outside of the vehicle,” Devlin stated in the report.

Although Soulemane held a knife, “he was not using the knife against them nor presenting any imminent threat to do so,” Devlin stated.

Devlin also said it was unreasonable to fire seven shots. One shot, he said, “might have disabled Soulemane from attacking others yet not kill him.”

Devlin concluded that when North fired his weapon, no one was at risk of imminent danger.

North turned himself in to the state’s inspector general’s office on April 19. He was placed on administrative leave and his police powers were suspended pending the outcome of his case.

The Soulemane family has filed a lawsuit and wrongful death claim in the wake of Mubarak’s death, alleging negligence.