Waterbury police video shows car theft suspect repeatedly reach for officer’s gun

Waterbury police on Friday released video that shows a suspect struggling with police and repeatedly reaching for at least one officer’s gun.

The man, Jose Bellido-Rosado, 44, eventually was taken into custody. He is charged with theft of a motor vehicle, interfering with an officer, two counts of assaulting a police officer and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to Lt. Ryan Bessette, the arrest stemmed from a call to police at about 10:20 a.m. Thursday. Officers were sent to the 900 block of Wolcott Street for a report of a stolen vehicle that was found by its owner.

The victim of the theft had reported her vehicle stolen a short time earlier, and she told police she found it in a parking lot. A man later identified as Bellido-Rosado was inside, Bessette said.

The owner confronted Bellido-Rosado, and he got out of the car, which allowed her to get inside and call police. She then identified the man as the thief to arriving officers, Bessette said.

When officers stopped Bellido-Rosado and started to handcuff him, but he pulled away and became combative, biting one of the officers, Bessette said.

Warning: The police body-camera footage may be disturbing to some viewers:

He also tried to grab an officer’s gun, Bessette said, causing the protective cover of the holster to break off during the struggle.

In the body camera video released Friday, an officer can be heard saying, “Stop reaching for my gun” more than a half-dozen times. An officer can also be seen kicking him.

Police finally got Bellido-Rosado under control and took him into custody. When they searched him, they found a crack pipe on him, Bessette said.

Two of the officers involved in the struggle were taken to the hospital, treated for minor injuries and released, he said.

Bellido-Rosado also was transported to a local hospital and is receiving treatment for minor injuries, Bessette said.

The incident was further reviewed by the Waterbury state’s attorney’s office, and Bessette said it was found that the use of force by the officers involved was determined to be reasonable and justified during the arrest.

In a statement, Waterbury Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. said, "Unfortunately, the use of force is sometimes inevitable to stop a suspect from resisting. In this case, as the body camera footage clearly shows, as the suspect was brought to the ground, he was actively reaching for one of our officer’s firearms.

“I commend the responding officers for their judgment and great restraint in bringing this highly combative suspect into custody," Pernerewski said in the statement. "The level of force these officers used was appropriate for the level of resistance the officers faced. Our police officers put their lives on the line each day to protect and serve our community, and I am thankful that in this case, their training and experience led to a successful arrest with minimal injuries.”