Bank Street from Jefferson Avenue to Montauk is closed following a police shooting just before 5 p.m.
According to witnesses a box truck was turning off of Bank Street when it flipped over. New London Police warned the driver before opening fire witnesses said. One person was loaded onto a stretcher and into an ambulance.
and are on the scene and diverting traffic onto Montauk Ave. The Groton Police Department and Connecticut State Police Major Crime Unit also arrived on scene on the scene. According to the State Police website, this unit is responsible for investigations of crimes such as homicide, arson, armed robbery, and sexual assault.
William Stanley said he saw the commotion when he was pulling onto Bank Street from Colman Street, so he pulled into a nearby gas station. Stanley said he likely arrived shortly after the shooting and that he saw police officers shouting at the driver of the truck, who was still in the vehicle.
"The police were there with their service weapons drawn, pointed at the cab," he said.
Stanley estimated that there were about 10 officers at the scene, along with a police K-9. He said it looked like at least half of the officers were armed and that one had an AR-15 assault rifle.
Carmen Feliciano said she was heading north on Bank Street in the right lane when the truck, pursued by police, passed her in the left lane. She said another cruiser was heading in the opposite direction when the truck turned onto Jefferson Ave. and flipped on its side.
Feliciano said she turned around and pulled off the road to calm down and heard one shot fired, then two or three. She said the driver had an oxygen mask on when he was taken away.
"I hope everything's OK," she said. "He looked like a young kid."
Richard Henry said he was riding his bike near the scene and that there were three police cruiser at the scene after the truck turned over. He said officers were shouting at the driver to put their hands up or they would use deadly force. He said one woman was sitting on a grassy area crying after the incident.
"There was a cop that was climbing up the front of [the truck]," he said.
The Bank Street end of Jefferson Avenue, along with a nearby store, were roped off with police tape.
Officers from the New London Police Department were last involved in a shooting in May, when 50-year-old pointed a BB gun at police in an apparent "suicide by cop attempt." Prior to that incident, officers had not been involved in a shooting since 1999.
No additional information is available at this time. Check back with Patch for updates.
