Family of man shot and killed by West Hartford officer questions fatal shooting

The family of a man shot and killed by a West Hartford police officer last week held a news conference Monday afternoon to address the shooting and said they are devastated.

Attorneys representing the family of Mike Alexander-Garcia held a news conference with the family at 2 p.m.

During the news conference, the family said Alexander-Garcia struggled with addiction, but he did not deserve to die.

The Office of Inspector General identified Alexander-Garcia as the suspect shot and killed by West Hartford Officer Andrew Teeter last Tuesday.

Alexander-Garcia, 34, was one of two people who fled from police in a stolen Hyundai Elantra on New Britain Avenue near Westfarms, according to the inspector general.

The stolen car eventually crashed into two other vehicles and became disabled at the intersection of New Britain Avenue and South Street.

Alexander-Garcia unsuccessfully tried to carjack two different vehicles before he ran into a service bay at Town Fair Tire at 980 New Britain Avenue and jumped into a Toyota Rav4, the inspector general said in his preliminary status report.

West Hartford Officer Andrew Teeter followed Alexander-Garcia into the service bay with his K9 partner and deployed the dog into the Toyota in an effort to arrest the suspect.

Teeter then got into the front passenger side of the Toyota to apprehend Alexander-Garcia.

That is when Alexander-Garcia backed the SUV out of the service bay with Officer Teeter and the K9 still inside and tried to drive away, according to the report.

The SUV struck two other vehicles, including Teeter's police cruiser as Teeter ordered Alexander-Garcia to stop.

Officer Teeter fired several shots, hitting Alexander-Garcia and the SUV crashed into a utility pole across the street from Town Fair Tire, according to the report.

Alexander-Garcia was taken to the hospital where he later died.

In a new release, attorney Ken Krayeske said Alexander-Garcia was unarmed during the incident and that the incident could have been resolved with non-deadly force.

In a statement to the media Monday afternoon, Alexander-Garcia’s family said the system failed him and he was not a violent person. They said they are not defending his actions, but he was not a bad person and they want justice.  

Ahead of Monday's news conference, West Hartford Police Chief Vernon Riddick released a statement about the incident.

"This was a dangerous situation involving multiple attempted carjackings and I encourage the public and the media to review all of the details," Chief Riddick said.

Officer Teeter suffered a broken rib and several head lacerations, according to the inspector general. The K9 was not hurt.

The second suspect, Lyle Solsbury, was quickly taken into custody down the road from Town Fair Tire.

The Office of the Inspector General, state police, and West Hartford police are conducting the investigation into the fatal shooting.