CT police officer arrested for using Taser on robbery suspect to face charges on March 7

NAUGATUCK, CT - On October 14, 2023, a criminal named Jarrell Day stole six packs of beer, totaling approximately $200, from a Stop & Shop grocery store in Naugatuck, a suburb of Waterbury. It was alleged that Day not only stole the beer but used force to carry out the theft, which raised the charge from larceny to robbery, which is a felony. 

Police responded to the scene, including Officer Nicholas Kehoss, age 36, married and the father of two. The officers made contact with Day, sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle. He was commanded to shut off the car and exit the vehicle. He then proceeded to flee at a high rate of speed, crashing into two police cruisers in the process. 

Day drove away and eventually crashed the vehicle and then fled on foot through an open field with Kehoss in pursuit. Kehoss deployed his department-issued Taser, and Day fell to the ground. Kehoss commanded him to get on his stomach, an order which he refused to comply with. He was tased a second time, and this application was effective, at least temporarily. 

Kehoss put his Taser back in the holster, grabbed Day’s right arm, and tried to bring it behind his back to handcuff him. Day then began to actively resist, and Kehoss warned Day that he would be “tased” again if he did not comply. He removed the Taser from its holster, and as Day continued to offer resistance, Kehoss used a “drive stun” with the unit on Day’s back. Day finally relented and allowed Kehoss to handcuff him. 

Day, who suffered no injuries, was arrested and charged with attempted second-degree assault, third-degree robbery, assault on a police officer, illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, second-degree larceny, reckless driving, operating under suspension, and evading responsibility. 

After the incident, the Naugatuck police, under the direction of Chief Colin McAllister, initiated a use-of-force review, which is typical for such cases. McAllister told NBC 30 that upon reviewing the footage of Kehoss’s body-worn camera, it raised some concerns about his use of the Taser during the arrest. 

“In our department, whenever there’s a use of force, it automatically triggers an internal review. That internal review process moves up the chain of command. Early on in that process, we identified several concerns with this use of force,” McAllister said at a news conference at the time. The case was then referred to the Waterbury State’s ATtorney’s Office, which then referred the case to the Connecticut State Police for investigation. 

State police charged Kehoss with third-degree assault and intentional cruelty to persons after their investigation. 

Day, who was previously convicted in a separate case of Resisting Arrest and received 364 days in jail, execution suspended, and a conditional discharge, pleaded guilty to Larceny in the 6th degree and failure to appear on the same charge. He again received 364 days in jail, execution suspended, and three years probation.

He also pleaded guilty to evading responsibility and received the same sentence, which appears to run concurrently with the other criminal charges. So, for committing a robbery, slamming into two police cruisers, and resisting arrest, Day will not do a single day in jail. 

Officer Kehoss has a court hearing scheduled at Waterbury Superior Court, 400 Grand Street, Waterbury, on Friday, March 7. 

Cathleen Walsh, a law enforcement advocate and administrator of Blue Lives Matter CT, organized a rally in support of Kehoss on his court date from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm. 

“This entire situation from day one was poorly handled, in my opinion. No charges should ever have been made against this officer,” Walsh told LET. “It is clear to see that he utilized his taser, a less lethal option, only until he was able to apprehend this noncompliant, violent criminal, a criminal that just rammed into his cruiser and fled. He had to assume he may be armed. 

“It is time we start supporting our men and women who serve and protect us, or soon, who will step up to do so?” 

Walsh has set up a Facebook page in support of Officer Kehoss.