Every Second Counted

NHPD

Officers race to the window.

Paul Bass Photo

Cop-community team Officers Michael Rubino and Roberto Talloni ...

... and neighbor Robbie Williams.

Inside an apartment tower, two New Haven police officers had to act instantly if they had any chance of preventing a woman from falling seven floors to her death.

Even when they reached her, they couldn’t save her on their own.

Help! Help!” they yelled.

Robbie Williams was in the hall. He heard the call.

A New Day

That was the frantic scene one recent morning inside a high-rise apartment building in town.

It lasted under four minutes. A lifetime depended on its outcome.

Officers Michael Rubino and Roberto Talloni were responding to a domestic violence complaint. Within seconds, the case turned into a life-or-death challenge. With no time to call on social workers or crisis specialists to help.

The call came in March 10 around 7 a.m. The two officers, who work the C squad overnight shift, were preparing to begin a second consecutive eight-hour shift, which New Haven’s cops do regularly because of a staffing shortage.

Rubino, who usually works in the Hill, had just picked up an iced caramel swirl coffee from the Forbes & Wheeler Dunkin’, part of his routine to transition to the second shift. An eight-and-a-half year NHPD veteran about to turn 32, he was parked a block from where the complaint came from. A woman had called 911 to say her romantic partner had assaulted her in the course of an argument that had escalated. New Haven officers respond to such calls pretty much every day. Rubino, who joined the force after ditching a plan to become a schoolteacher and switching his college major to criminal justice, has handled many of them. There was no reason to believe this call portended any unusual twist.

Talloni was also preparing to begin a second consecutive shift. He’d worked his regular C squad beat off I‑91 Exit 8. Now he headed to join Rubino to accompany him to the domestic-violence call.

When they arrived at the seventh-floor apartment, the woman who had called in the complaint had left. She doesn’t live in the apartment. Her partner, who does live in the apartment, was still home.

The officers spoke with the partner. She said the complainant had started the argument. She did not have any physical injuries. She declined to give a written statement.

Next the officers called the original complainant. She agreed to meet up with them outside a building on Court Street.

When the officers arrived there, they noticed the woman had scratches to her forehead, her lip, under her eye. She was still bleeding. At the apartment they had also noticed some of her hair, which had apparently been pulled out, on the floor.

I don’t want to do this anymore,” the woman told them about her romantic relationship, explaining the cause of the argument. She said the other woman had lunged at her, wrapped an arm around her neck badly enough to make her black out, struck her repeatedly in the face, and pulled out one of her dreadlocks. She said she had grabbed the other woman’s head to try to stop the assault, then was able to leave. She also admitted throwing the other woman’s cellphone in the sewer.

The officers issued the woman a misdemeanor summons for fourth-degree larceny because of the phone.

Then they had to make the big decision: Whom to charge.

State domestic-violence law has changed since Rubino became a cop. Officers in the past regularly arrested both parties when responding to violent arguments; that often kept victims from filing complaints.

Under a dominant aggressor” law that took effect in Connecticut in 2019 (more about that here), officers must make arrests in response to reports of domestic violence, but need to determine the responsible party.

Talloni, 34, one of 80 New Haven officers to join the force since the pandemic began, has been trained only in the new law. (He studied political science in college, then worked a factory job in Trumbull; a combination of remembering NHPD ride-alongs he engaged in as part of his college work and reports from friends on the force convinced him to make the career change to policing.) Rubino said he was happy to be retrained under the new domestic violence law because it’s fairer, allows us to look at everything,” and makes our jobs easier.”

So after interviewing both women, they compared notes. Based on the physical injuries, the fact that the second woman had called the police and agreed to give a written statement, each had concluded that the first woman was the dominant aggressor.

"We Spoke To Her"

So they returned to the seventh floor. They knocked. The woman opened the door. Rubino (pictured above) took the lead.

Talloni’s body camera captured the exchange.

So,” it shows Rubino informing the woman calmly, as he stood outside, we spoke to her.” He said the woman had gotten in trouble” for throwing away the phone.

Rubino took a breath and looked the woman in the eye.

She’s got cuts all over her face,” he said.

She attacked me,” the woman responded.

So listen …” Rubino began, keeping his voice soft.

Anticipating what would come next, the woman exclaimed, I have to go jail?”

He nodded.

No no no! I didn’t do anything!” she started crying. No! You can’t take me to jail! She attacked me! Are you serious?”

Rubino softly sought to calm her. As he would later explain, he decided she needed time and space to express her feelings. He saw no immediate threat to the officers’ safety, he said, so there was no need to grab her or rush forward with the arrest. He could wait. (“If I amp it up, that’s just going to amp it up.”)

I didn’t do anything, please!” she called. Rubino took one step forward and half-whispered a suggestion to calm down.”

Please please please please! I didn’t do anything! Please don’t take me to jail!” she called out, and began stepping backwards. Rubino remained in the doorway, Talloni in the hall.

Next the woman stepped into the apartment’s kitchen area. That did cause concern, because, as Talloni later put it, we’re taught kitchens are danger zones — they have knives.” Would she grab one?

Before they could notice (later, after the fact, they would see one), the woman dashed to the window. It was less than two minutes since the officers had arrived, some 30 seconds after she had begun showing multiple signs of distress.

Whoa!” the officers called out. They didn’t stop to think about what to do. They certainly didn’t have time to call COMPASS, the city’s new social worker-staffed crisis response team. They broke into a run (pictured above) to try to stop her from leaping out.

Fortunately, the window was shut. So the woman had to open it. That bought a couple of seconds.

But she had enough of a head start to have lunged much of her body out of it by the time Rubino, then Talloni, caught up.

Screams Reach The Hallway

Rubino grabbed her legs, from the left. It was like a movie,” he later recalled. I heard and saw her shirt ripping.”

From the right, Talloni was able to grab the woman’s waist.

But they couldn’t get her back inside.

Help!” they yelled. Help!!”

Robbie Williams, a 68-year retired Town Green Special Services District ambassador” who lives on the floor, was passing by in the hall on his way downstairs. He heard the yells. He ran in.

He rushed in between the two officers. He grabbed the woman’s belt. They pulled. Williams got his arm around her arm and shoulder. They still struggled to get her back inside. It still appeared she might fall to her death.

Williams called for help too; he later said another neighbor named Drew rushed in as well and pulled on the three men.

That worked. Everyone fell backwards.

Talloni fell first, smashing his lower back against an air conditioning unit. The woman landed next, on him, then Rubino on top.

She attacked me! I don’t want to go to jail!” the woman screamed.

The officers started to handcuff her as she sought to squirm from their grip. She managed to free one hand enough to grab Talloni’s gun, he said. He yelled for help; they were able, with the assistance of Williams, to re-cuff her wrists.

On the ground, she again reached for the gun, but couldn’t get it.

The officers helped the woman up. Minutes after the dash to the window, everyone was safe. And somewhat calmer.

If he didn’t help us,” Rubino would later say of Robbie Williams, he’s not sure how the incident would have ended.

Williams described the situation as scary” and the woman as a friendly neighbor. He said he was thankful” to the officers for their composure and quick response under stress, and grateful to God to put me here. I’m glad I was there to help.”

COMPASS Steps In

The woman, telling the officers she had no physical injuries, declined medical attention. Rubino decided to have her sent to the hospital for psychological evaluation, where she was held under a safety watch until subsequently being evaluated and released. She was charged with third-degree assault, second-degree breach of peace, and interfering with an officer.

Sgt. Jasmine Sanders, the top Hill cop, has been working regularly with COMPASS since its launch last year. She connected the woman with the team, which followed up. She was open and accepted” help from services to which the team directed her, Sanders reported. They’re going to be working with her, which is great.” Both Sanders and Assistant Chief David Zannelli, who oversees patrol, commended the officers for their lightning-quick life-saving work; Zannelli also called it a model example of community policing, with officers seeking and receiving crucial help from a neighbor.

After the adrenaline rush of the incident, Officer Talloni noticed he did have back pain. He went for evaluation, then spent a week on light duty before returning to his regular shift this week.

Rubino returned to the beat; his second shift was still in its early hours. Both Chief Karl Jacobson and Assistant Chief Zannelli checked in with him during the shift to praise the officers’ life-saving work. Jacobson offered him a mental health day; Rubino declined.

He didn’t have time that Friday to process the intensity of what had just happened. Later he would reflect on how the incident demonstrated the impact you can have” as a police officer.

Rubino had to wait to write up the incident report until later in his morning shift. He was called to back up another officer responding to a person in emotional distress. In this case, the officers had time to call COMPASS on the spot. So they did.

If you are struggling with self-harm, you are not alone. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 800−273−8255; it operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The crisis text line is 741741.

Previous stories about officers on the beat:

Shafiq Abdussabur
Yessennia Agosto
Craig Alston & Billy White Jr.
Joseph Aurora
James Baker
Lloyd Barrett
Pat Bengston & Mike Valente
Elsa Berrios
Manmeet Bhagtana (Colon)
Paul Bicki
Paul Bicki (2)
Sheree Biros
Bitang
Kevin Blanco
Scott Branfuhr
Bridget Brosnahan
Thomas Brunski, Trevor Canace, Nick Samartino, Daniel Smith
Craig Burnett & Orlando Crespo
Keron Bryce and Steve McMorris
Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia
Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia (2)
Dennis Burgh
Tyler Camp
Anthony Campbell
Darryl Cargill & Matt Wynne
Elizabeth Chomka & Becky Fowler
Rob Clark & Joe Roberts
Sydney Collier
Carlos Conceicao
Carlos Conceicao (2)
Carlos Conceicao and Josh Kyle
David Coppola
Mike Criscuolo
Natalie Crosby
Steve Cunningham and Timothy Janus
Chad Curry
Gabrielle Curtis, Tyler Evans, Justin Julianelle
Gregory Dash
Roy Davis
Joe Dease
Milton DeJesus
Milton DeJesus (2)
Rose Dell
Brian Donnelly
Renee Dominguez, Leonardo Soto, & Mary Helland
Anthony Duff
Anthony Duff (2)
Robert DuPont
Robert DuPont and Rose Dell
Eric Eisenhard & Jasmine Sanders
Jeremie Elliott and Scott Shumway
Jeremie Elliott (2)
Jose Escobar Sr.
Bertram Ettienne
Bertram Ettienne (2)
Daniel Evans & Ramonel Torres
Martin Feliciano & Lou DeCrescenzo
Paul Finch
Jeffrey Fletcher
Renee Forte
Marco Francia
Michael Fumiatti
Michael Fumiatti (2)
Osvaldo Garcia, Marlena Ofiara & Jake Wright
William Gargone
William Gargone (2)
William Gargone & Mike Torre
Derek Gartner
Derek Gartner & Ryan Macuirzynski
Tom Glynn & Matt Williams
Jon Haddad & Daniela Rodriguez
Michael Haines
Michael Haines & Brendan Borer
Michael Haines & Brendan Borer (2)
Dan Hartnett
Ray Hassett
Robert Hayden
Heidi
Patricia Helliger
Robin Higgins
Ronnell Higgins
William Hurley & Eddie Morrone
Derek Huelsman
Racheal Inconiglios
Juan Ingles
Bleck Joseph and Marco Correa
Shayna Kendall
Shayna Kendall (2)
Paul Kenney
Hilda Kilpatrick
Herb Johnson
John Kaczor & Alex Morgillo
Jillian Knox
Peter Krause
Peter Krause (2)
Amanda Leyda
Rob Levy
Kyle Listro & Joseph Perrotti
Anthony Maio
Dana Martin
Ashley McKernan
Reggie McGlotten
Steve McMorris
Juan Monzon
Monique Moore and David Santiago
Matt Myers
Carlos and Tiffany Ortiz
Tiffany Ortiz
Doug Pearse and Brian Jackson
Chris Perrone
Joseph Perrotti
Joseph Perrotti & Gregory Dash
Ron Perry
Joe Pettola
Diego Quintero and Elvin Rivera
Ryan Przybylski
Stephanie Redding
Tony Reyes
David Rivera
Luis & David Rivera
Luis Rivera (2)
Salvador Rodriguez
Salvador Rodriguez (2)
Brett Runlett
David Runlett
Betsy Segui & Manmeet Colon
Allen Smith
Marcus Tavares
Martin Tchakirides
David Totino
Stephan Torquati
Gene Trotman Jr.
* Elisa Tuozzoli
Kelly Turner
Lars Vallin (& Xander)
Dave Vega & Rafael Ramirez
Earl Reed
Daophet Sangxayarath & Jessee Buccaro
Jason Santiago
Herb Sharp
Matt Stevens and Jocelyn Lavandier
Jessica Stone
Jessica Stone & Mike DeFonzo
Arpad Tolnay
Mike Torre & Ray Saracco
John Velleca
Manuella Vensel
Holly Wasilewski
Holly Wasilewski (2)
Alan Wenk
Stephanija VanWilgen
Donald White, Brandon Way, & David Santiago
Elizabeth White & Allyn Wright
Matt Williams
Michael Wuchek
Michael Wuchek (2)
David Zannelli
Cailtin Zerella
Caitlin Zerella (2)
Caitlin Zerella, Derek Huelsman, David Diaz, Derek Werner, Nicholas Katz, and Paul Mandel
David Zaweski

Tags:

Sign up for our morning newsletter

Don't want to miss a single Independent article? Sign up for our daily email newsletter! Click here for more info.


Post a Comment

Commenting has closed for this entry

Comments

Avatar for MemoryMan

Avatar for DarnellG

Avatar for Heather C.

Avatar for Brian L. Jenkins

Avatar for Patricia Kanae

Avatar for Hill Resident

Avatar for SusieQ

Avatar for THREEFIFTHS

Avatar for JT23787

Avatar for elmcitybornandraised