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officer justified in trying to run down suspect while being fired upon

By Greg Smith
The Day

NORWICH, Conn. — A Norwich police officer who was fired at by a man carrying an AR-15 style rifle in 2021 was justified in returning gunfire and trying to run the man over, the state Office of Inspector General concluded in a report released on Wednesday.

The use of force report on the incident indicates that Norwich Police Officer Scott N. Dupointe “justifiably used deadly force,” when he fired at 28-year-old Andrew O’Lone of Norwich on the evening of Oct. 26, 2021. Investigators concluded Dupointe was also justified in trying, but ultimately failing, to use his police vehicle to strike O’Lone.

The Office of the Inspector General has, since 2021, been tasked with conducting investigations into use of force incidents by police officers. Robert J. Devlin Jr. is the current inspector general.

According to the report, at about 10 p.m. on Oct. 26, Dupointe, who was at the time an 11-year veteran of the city police department, was working an overtime shift when he responded to calls reporting shots fired in the area of the Westwood Park apartment complex. A suspicious man had been seen in a nearby wooded area.

Dupointe was driving west on Dunham Street when a man wearing a ski mask appeared in the roadway about 50 yards from Dupointe’s Ford Explorer. It was dark and Dupointe turned on his vehicle’s spotlight.

“Now 25 yards from the officer and holding an AR-15 style rifle, O’Lone crossed in front of the police cruiser and immediately fired multiple shots in the direction of Officer Dupointe, nearly striking him and causing extensive damage to the vehicle,” the report states.

O’Lone, police reports show, was carrying a rifle with a 30-round capacity magazine.

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