On a winter evening in West Haven, Connecticut, the life of a 19-year-old Black man named Mubarak Mubi Soulemane came to a tragic end. On January 15, 2020, Soulemane was fatally shot by a Connecticut State Trooper following a high-speed chase that concluded under a highway overpass. His family later disclosed that he had been struggling with schizophrenia and may have been experiencing a mental health episode at the time.
The events that led to the fatal encounter began in Norwalk, where
Soulemane allegedly threatened individuals with a knife at an AT&T store before carjacking a vehicle. This act initiated a police pursuit that sped down Interstate 95. The chase ended in West Haven when the stolen car became boxed in by police cruisers. On the scene were both state troopers and West Haven police officers.
As officers surrounded the vehicle, a West Haven police officer broke the passenger-side window. Another trooper attempted to use a taser on Soulemane. It was at this point that State Trooper Brian North fired his handgun seven times through the driver's side window, striking and killing Soulemane, who was seated inside with a knife.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Trooper Brian North was arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm. The state's Inspector General, in a report on the incident, concluded that North's use of deadly force was not justified as neither he nor any other person was in imminent danger of serious injury or death from a knife attack. The case proceeded to a jury trial which commenced in early 2024. Despite the charges, a jury ultimately found Trooper North not guilty of manslaughter. The Soulemane family has also pursued civil litigation in connection with his death.
