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STRATFORD — A New Haven police officer shot his daughter in the knee Tuesday after he mistook her for a burglar as she tried to sneak into her home after a late-night rendezvous with her boyfriend, police said.
New Haven police Officer Eric Scott, 41, who has been on medical leave from his job since he was hit and dragged by a truck in November, fired one shot from his Glock service weapon at what he thought was an intruder at his Soundview Avenue home at 1:09 a.m. Tuesday, police said.
It turned out to be his 18-year-old daughter, Tasha.
"She apparently snuck out to go to her boyfriend's," Stratford police spokesman Capt. Christopher Marino said. "He interrupted what he thought was a burglar. ? He heard a noise and saw something in the shadows, and shot."
Scott was not charged with any crime. According to police, he was asleep when a motion-sensitive light in the rear of his home activated, and Scott loaded his service revolver and went to look.
Checking the house, Scott found that a basement door that had been locked when he went to bed was now open, and Scott fired a single round at a "shadow moving in the basement bathroom," which turned out to be his daughter.
Scott called 911 after making the discovery, police said, and the daughter was taken to Bridgeport Hospital where she underwent surgery. The bullet traveled up her leg and lodged in her thigh area, police said. Tasha Scott was listed in critical but stable condition Tuesday evening, the hospital said.
Scott wouldn't comment on the incident later Tuesday. However, several law enforcement officials questioned Scott's tactics, sources said. Police Capt. Thomas Rodia, commander of the Stratford detective bureau, did not return calls late Tuesday. A police report makes no mention that Scott shouted or identified himself before he fired.
While Scott, a nine-year veteran of the New Haven department, was not charged in the shooting, the matter will be forwarded to the state's attorney's office in Bridgeport, Marino said.
New Haven police spokeswoman Bonnie Posick said that because Scott is out of work on injured status, there is no need to take any administrative action after the shooting.
In the Nov. 10 accident in New Haven, Scott was behind an AT&T truck as it started to back up Forbes Avenue and collect traffic cones. Somehow, the truck backed over Scott, who was directing traffic, and he frantically shouted into his radio for help as stunned motorists tried to get the attention of the driver.
Stratford police are still investigating the shooting, and once completed, the results will be turned over to Bridgeport State's Attorney Jonathan Benedict for review, police said.
You were certainly ready and many of us would have done the same thing, because we want to protect our home and loved ones. You made a decision and it could have been your life. So..it turns out differently. Very unfortunate, but your daughter should have grown up a lot more after this incident. Who knows, it might prove to be the best thing that happened to her, although a very hard lesson indeed. Hope all turns out well.
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