By Patricia Del Rio and Rob Polansky
EAST HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) – Police shot and killed a man while responding to a domestic violence call, according to officers.
It happened at the couple’s home on Skyline Drive in East Hartford on Thursday night.
The man has been identified as John J. Carras, of East Hartford.
Police said the woman was so violently attacked by her husband that she required hospitalization with life-threatening injuries.
The initial call came in to police around 6:30 p.m.
According to investigators, the woman was being attacked right when officers arrived.
Sources said a 911 call came into East Hartford Police Dept. but there was no talking. Instead, a woman was heard screaming in the background to “get out and run” over and over.
At one point, a woman is heard screaming “why,” and also heard choking and gasping for breath. A man’s voice is heard saying “you’re done” and “die” repeatedly.
Also on the call, someone else is heard yelling “hey, is everything alright?” The man then says “yes, everything is fine, go away, it’s fine.” He then lowers his voice and is heard whispering “die” and “you’re done.”
An officer is then heard screaming “get off her” and is yelling to dispatch to hurry the medics.
A struggle with officers followed and Carras was ultimately shot and killed by police. Two officers were sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Berlin Superintendent of Schools Brian Benigni confirms Carras was a school psychologist for Berlin Public Schools.
Carras was with the district for 11 years and Benigni calls him, “an excellent employee, very professional, and liked by his peers.”
Police said the couple has two children who were home. However, it’s not clear if anything was witnessed.
“I’ve never seen police there, he was great with the kids. You wouldn’t even expect it, you just wouldn’t,” said Anthony Dattilio, a neighbor.
It’s also not yet clear how many shots were fired or if both responding officers discharged their weapons.
“My heart goes out to the family because they are such a beautiful family, and I just hope she is going to be okay and the kids are going to be okay. I just can’t imagine how traumatizing this must be for all of them,” said Jessica Toce, a family friend.
Friends of the family say the mother of the children is recovering.
Those who work with her describe her as happy and cheerful.
The state’s attorney is now handling the case because police officers were involved in the shooting.
On Friday afternoon, the state’s attorney said neither of the officers involved nor the police vehicles were equipped with body cam or cruiser cameras, so there are no recordings of the incident.
Police said they had not been called to the home before.
Those who work with domestic violence victims say chances are this has happened before.
“Domestic violence is a pattern of behavior, it often happens over time. It’s never something that happens just one time in isolation,” said Karen Jarmoc, CT Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
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