Colleagues mourn CT Police Trooper Pelletier: We have ‘senselessly lost a great hero’
As law enforcement leaders and officials from across Connecticut posted tributes Friday to Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier, a small band of police in Hartford recalled memories of when he served on a regional task force targeting narcotics gangs and violent criminals.
“He stood out. He was young, he had a really good work ethic, he was charismatic — he had the personality where everybody got along with him,” said Hartford Detective Abhilash Pillai, who worked with Pelletier for more than a year on the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force.
Pelletier, a 34-year-old husband and father of two young boys, was killed Thursday afternoon while doing a routine traffic stop along I-84 in Southington. An allegedly intoxicated driver veered partly onto the highway’s shoulder and hit Pelletier, who had gotten out of his patrol car to talk with a motorist he’d pulled over for a seatbelt violation, according to police.
Pelletier was hit at 2:36 p.m., and leaders in Southington — where he lived — are asking for a moment of silence in his memory on Monday at 2:36 p.m.
Gov. Ned Lamont ordered state flags to half-staff until Pelletier’s funeral, saying “This is a tragic reminder about the dangers law enforcement face every day when they leave their homes and go to work. Trooper Pelletier served Connecticut with honor, integrity, and commitment, and he embodies the definition of public service. His courage and bravery will never be forgotten.”
State police closed part of I-84 Thursday evening for a procession to bring Pelletier’s body to the state medical examiner’s office in Farmington.
At mid-day Friday, a long procession of troopers in silver Ford SUVs took part in a procession accompanying the body from the medical examiner’s office to a Southington funeral home. Local roads were lined by police from multiple towns around the state.
U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal along with state agency commissioners, police chiefs, prosecutors and police unions posted social media messages of condolence for Pelletier’s wife, Dominique, two sons and other relatives.
At a press conference Thursday night, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz described Pelletier as thoroughly committed to duty.
In an agency of more than 1,100, Pelletier had already gotten the attention of the state’s second-in-command: She told of how he had once checked her official car — a state vehicle driven by another trooper — to be sure seatbelts were being worn.
“Others on our detail who knew him were laughing about it later, but laughing because they knew he was very dedicated and he’s stopped the lieutenant governor just to make sure she was wearing a seatbelt,” Bysiewicz said.
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A state trooper since 2015, Pelletier was building a notable career. He was trained as one of the agency’s canine handlers, and had been chosen in 2018 to conduct a ride-along with WTNH to publicize automated license plate readers in patrol cars.
Most recently Pelletier was assigned to Troop H in Hartford, and on Thursday morning was working overtime in a highway safety initiative that involved making traffic stops along I-84.
Just a few years before that, Pelletier had been picked for a high-impact, high-risk assignment: The FBI’s regional Safe Streets task force in Hartford. In that role, he earned the respect of supervisors and senior investigators.
“We chase violent offenders, suspects in homicides and shootings, violent offenders,” Pillai said. “We have a variety of cops from different towns and the FBI, so personality is important on the task force. And a second thing is work ethic. He wasn’t afraid to write a report or search warrant, he wanted to learn, he respected seniority and he asked questions.”
Colleagues said anyone who worked with Pelletier went away with a good impression.
“Trust was never an issue with him, he was a really eager young trooper and ready to go,” recalled Hartford Detective Jeff Moody, another task force veteran. “He always had our backs.”
Moody and Pillai described Pelletier as reliable and versatile, thoroughly competent at the wide range of skills needed for short- and long-term investigations of violent gangs and narcotics dealers.
Pelletier had just three years on the job when he was selected for the competitive assignment in October 2018, and he stayed for 2 1/2 years. At that point, his youngest son was just a baby and Pelletier wanted to return to the state police as a canine officer, colleagues said.
FBI Supervisory Special Agent Joseph Altimari, who heads three Safe Streets task forces in Connecticut, said Pelletier had a top-level reputation with the FBI agents, state troopers and local police who were with the task force at the time.
“For our criteria, you have to be a proven officer in good standing to even be considered for a role like this,” Altimari said. “You have to have the high moral character, you have to pass a background investigation be able to make the cut. It’s competitive.
“In talking with all my folks, they say he was among the best. You have to be dedicated to the mission of the task force. He was also extremely family oriented. We considered him a member of our family, and this was a huge loss to us. He was one of the finest.”
Police across the state have attached black mourning bands across their badges.
“Aaron was a great trooper and a dedicated family man, and quickly became a part of our Hartford family,” Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody said Friday. “Our law enforcement community has, once again, senselessly lost a great hero.”
The man accused of killing Pelletier, 44-year-old Alex Oyola-Sanchez of Zion Street in Hartford, was held overnight in lieu of $5 million bond. A judge on Friday reduced that to $1.5 million and directed he be jailed until his next court appearance June 6.
Pelletier was killed soon after pulling over a motorist for failing to wear a seatbelt along eastbound I-84 in Southington. Police said Oyola-Sanchez was in the right lane driving under the influence when his pickup truck drifted toward the highway shoulder and hit Pelletier.
Oyala-Sanchez then tried to keep driving but was stopped near Exit 39 in Farmington, police said.
In court Friday, a bail commissioner reported that Oyola-Sanchez has no criminal record in Connecticut, but was convicted in Puerto Rico of third-degree murder in 2007 and convicted of three counts of attempted homicide there the next year, CT Insider reported.
Troopers charged Oyola-Sanchez with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, failing to drive in the proper lane, evading responsibility in a case involving death, failing to renew registration, driving without minimum insurance and failing to move over for an emergency vehicle.
Connecticut State Police said just one fundraiser for the family will be organized, one “created by TFC Pelletier’s brothers and sisters at Troop H, and has been approved by the Pelletier Family.” All proceeds go directly to Pelletier’s family. The fundraiser can be found at https://gofund.me/ea7e0ca4
