A Connecticut man was fatally shot by police after authorities say he beat his father with a baseball bat in a brutal daytime attack outside their Meriden home, according to disturbing police body camera footage and official reports.
Robert Jenkins III, 38, was shown repeatedly striking the victim — later identified as his 69-year-old father, Robert Jenkins Jr. — on the front lawn of the family’s home Sunday morning, the Connecticut Insider reported.
Anthony Offiaeli, the first Meriden police officer to arrive at the scene, repeatedly ordered Jenkins to “put the f–king bat down,” but Jenkins did not comply before the officer opened fire, the bodycam footage shows.
“When he (Offiaeli) arrived, Jenkins III was bludgeoning a male, who was lying motionless on the front lawn, in the head with a baseball bat,” Connecticut Inspector General Eliot Prescott said in a preliminary report.
“Officer Offiaeli ordered Jenkins III to drop the baseball bat four times, but he did not comply and continued to strike the prone male on the head with the bat.
“Officer Offiaeli then discharged his service firearm numerous times at Jenkins III. Several rounds struck Jenkins III, who then dropped the bat and fell to the ground.”
Offiaeli fired at least 18 rounds at Jenkins III, according to the report.
Jenkins III died later that night at 11:30 p.m. from “multiple gunshot wounds of the torso,” and his death was ruled a homicide.
Meanwhile, his father died as a result of “blunt force head injuries” and the manner of his death was also ruled a homicide.
It’s not clear if Offiaeli has been put on administrative leave. In Connecticut, it’s common for cops involved in fatal shootings to be put on leave pending the investigation.
Neighbors were left stunned over the attack in the residential town, situated between New Haven and Hartford.
“I don’t know every minute of every day, but when they were in public they were respectful; they were very social,” neighbor Raymond Prue told WTNH.
Kirsten Anderson, who also lives in the neighborhood, claimed Jenkins III previously had violent outbursts.
“He needed help,” she told WFSB.
“He had to have cracked to continue beating when the police were telling him to stop. That’s why police had to shoot.”
