East Haven officer’s shooting justified after man tries to hit officers during car chase

An East Haven police officer firing his gun while arresting a suspect in Milford in January 2023 was justified, the inspector general announced Friday.

On Jan. 5, 2023, Nicholas Gambardella, 27, was confronted by police officers at a Berger King parking lot in Branford. This interaction led to a multi-town police pursuit on Interstate 95 that ended near exit 36 in Milford.

According to officials, Gambardella drove off I-95 and crashed at the end of the exit ramp before running off. He then ran across the southbound and northbound sides of the interstate to a grassy area.

Body camera footage from the officers showed East Haven Lt. Joseph Finoia and Lt. Kevin Klarman running after him.

In the video, Finoia can be heard yelling, “I’ll [expletive] kill you! Get down on the ground!” before firing three shots at Gambardella, who falls to the ground. Gambardella is quickly apprehended and taken into custody.

None of the shots struck Gambardella, and police reported no other injuries.

According to officials, police had confronted Gambardella because he had outstanding felony warrants, and they had information going into it that he possessed a gun. However, police did not find a weapon on or near Gambardella when he was taken into custody.

In its report on Friday, the Office of the Inspector General said the investigation into the shooting found that Finoia fired his weapon and used deadly force to “defend himself and other officers from what he reasonably believed was the use of deadly force.”

“I therefore conclude that his use of force was justified under Connecticut law. The Office of the Inspector General will take no further action in this matter,” the report concluded.