HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut judge has dismissed a negligence lawsuit against state police in the killing of a Newington police officer by her state trooper ex-boyfriend in 2005.
Judge Trial Referee Joseph Shortall in Hartford ruled last week that the family of slain officer Ciara McDermott didn’t prove that state police could have foreseen her killing by Trooper Victor Diaz at McDermott’s West Hartford home.
Authorities say Diaz shot McDermott and himself with his personal handgun, which had been seized eight months earlier by state police after Diaz was charged with drunken driving.
McDermott’s family sued the state in 2012, saying state police shouldn’t have returned the gun to Diaz’s brother four months before the killings.
It’s not clear if McDermott’s family will appeal. Their lawyer didn’t immediately return messages Monday.
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