Connecticut Inspector General Deems Hartford Shooting Justified

Connecticut Inspector General Eliot Prescott concluded that Hartford Officer Alexander Clifford was legally justified in fatally shooting 53-year-old Everard Walker during a mental health call at Walker’s Capitol Avenue apartment on Feb. 19, 2026. The report found Clifford reasonably believed Walker posed an imminent threat of death or serious injury after Walker raised a knife toward Officer Giovanny Rivera, who had fallen during a struggle. The encounter escalated after officers entered the apartment and later tried to arrest Walker’s daughter, prompting a confrontation involving family members and police. Walker’s family and attorneys criticized the police response and the decision to enter, and called for better ways to respond to people experiencing mental health crises.