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6006 Reads
4:13 PM EST, January 29, 2007
By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER, The Hartford Courant
CONNECTICUT NEWS
The man who shot two Old Saybrook police officers who tried to remove him from a motel room in 2005 was sentenced to 20 years in prison today.
Superior Court Judge Frank A. Iannotti imposed his sentenced on Michael L. Harris, 51, after both officers testified and requested that Harris serve a longer sentence. But Iannotti, who indicated in November that he would sentence Harris to 20 years if he pled guilty to the charges he was facing, stuck with the sentence, offering an explanation of his thought process . . .
"Let me only say that this 20 year sentence in no way in my mind minimizes the importance of the work that you do," Iannotti said as Patrolman William Bergantino and Det. Sgt. Eugean Heiney, the officers Harris shot, sat in the courtroom.
Iannotti said he initially indicated the 20 years sentence because he knew that any higher sentence would have led Harris' public defender, Brian S. Carlow, to take the case to trial. Iannotti said he wanted to spare the officers the pain of reliving the experience during a trial. He also said he believed Harris, a longtime drug abuser, might not live to be released from prison, or would only live a brief time after release.
Middlesex State's Attorney Timothy J. Liston asked Iannotti to sentence Harris to 40 years in prison, and several police associations, including the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and the Police Association of Connecticut, wrote letters asking Iannotti to consider a stricter sentence.
Heiney and Bergantino both spoke of the injuries they sustained in the shooting and the aftereffects they continue to face, and asked Iannotti to impose a tougher sentence.
Harris' public defender, Brian S. Carlow, argued that 20 years should not be considered lenient for Harris, who has been in poor health related to the gunshot wounds he sustained during the incident and the effects of his drug addiction. If the case went to trial, Harris could have faced 65 years in prison. He pled guilty to two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of assault on a police officer, and illegal possession of a firearm.
The incident began when Bergantino was dispatched to help evict Harris from his room at the Knights Inn motel on Boston Post Road. A check of his name determined that Harris was wanted by New London police and considered dangerous, and Heiney was sent to the scene as backup.
Shortly after Heiney arrived in Harris' room, Harris stood up, pulled a gun from his waistband, pointed it at Bergantino, and said, "Let's end this now," according to court documents. Heiney and Bergantino retreated into the hallway, but Harris fired. One bullet ricocheted off Heiney's head, penetrating his brain before landing in a wall. Another hit Bergantino, lodging in the back of his bulletproof vest.
With Heiney bleeding from his head, Bergantino and another officer dispatched to the scene, Patrolman Charles Mercer, exchanged fire with Harris. Bergantino was shot in the foot, but managed to shoot Harris. He was later found face-down at the bottom of a stairwell, with gunshot wounds to his chest and back.
At the time of the shooting, Harris was under the influence of opium, cocaine and alcohol, Liston said.
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