Officer Joseph “Joey” Magnano – Hartford, CT

Former Hartford Police Officer Joseph “Joey” Magnano is facing a first-degree manslaughter charge—and the possibility of spending up to 20 years in prison—following a split-second use-of-force decision during an encounter with an armed man on February 27, 2026.

In fact, Joey Magnano was supposed to be off on February 27, 2026. But when the department asked him to work, he agreed.

Earlier that day, Hartford officers were called to Blue Hills Avenue concerning Steven Jones, who had reportedly cut himself and was standing in public armed with a large knife.

Three officers were already on scene before Officer Magnano arrived. According to the firsthand account of the incident, officers repeatedly ordered Jones to drop the knife and attempted to stop him with a taser, but those efforts were unsuccessful.

Officer Magnano heard the urgent radio traffic and responded to assist. When he arrived, Jones was still holding the knife and refusing repeated commands to put it down. According to information provided to NCPD, officers issued approximately 116 commands or pleas for Jones to drop the weapon during the encounter, including 14 commands from Magnano himself.

The situation became increasingly dangerous when Jones turned his attention toward Joey and began advancing directly toward him while still holding the knife.

Officer Magnano did not immediately fire.

He backed away.

As Jones continued toward him, Magnano continued retreating and repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon. Joey warned him that he would be shot if he continued advancing. Jones advanced approximately 45 feet- roughly 25 steps- as Officer Magnano retreated nearly the same distance. The gap between them continued to close until Jones was approximately eight feet away.

The taser attempts had already failed. Repeated verbal commands had failed. Officer Joey Magnano was moving backward while an armed man continued advancing toward him.

He issued one final warning: “Last time, drop the knife. Drop it.”

Jones continued forward.

Faced with an armed subject only feet away, Officer Magnano fired his service weapon. Steven Jones later died from his injuries.

National Center for Police Defense believes that Officer Joey Magnano deserves the same thing every American accused of a crime deserves: due process, the presumption of innocence, and a defense capable of presenting the complete circumstances surrounding those critical seconds.

Joey Magnano’s defense maintains that he acted to protect himself from an immediate threat. The Hartford Police Union has also publicly stood behind him and maintained that his actions were taken in self-defense. And yet Connecticut Office of Inspector General still concluded that Magnano’s use of deadly force was not legally justified, and Officer Magnano was charged with first-degree manslaughter. He was also terminated from the Hartford Police Department following the hooting.

Now, a young officer who began that morning by volunteering to work an extra shift faces the possibility of losing decades of his life to prison.

And the events of those final seconds should not erase the officer that Joey Magnano was before February 27.

During his short career, Officer Magnano had already demonstrated a willingness to put himself in harm’s way to save others. In one incident, he applied a tourniquet to a gunshot victim and kept the person alive until paramedics arrived. According to his family, the surgeon later credited Joey’s actions with saving the victim’s life, and an award was being planned before his termination.

On other calls, Magnano rushed to shooting victims and immediately began CPR. His mother, Cari, a registered nurse, would sometimes scold him when she discovered he had jumped in to provide lifesaving care without first stopping to put on gloves.

That was the kind of officer that Joey wanted to be: someone who ran toward people who needed help.

But today, he is the one that needs help.

A case involving a police shooting requires an enormous amount of preparation and specialized expertise. Officer Magnano’s legal team must be able to carefully review body-camera footage, reports, witness statements, forensic evidence, medical evidence, and every second of the encounter. His defense may also require experts in police use of force, taser effectiveness, forensic pathology, wound evidence, and the behavior of armed individuals experiencing severe mental-health crises.

The government has investigators, prosecutors, experts, and taxpayer-funded resources at its disposal. Officer Joey Magnano deserves a defense capable of meeting that power in the courtroom.

That is why the National Center for Police Defense is standing with Joey and his family. NCPD helps law-enforcement officers facing criminal prosecution for actions taken while performing their duties. We believe officers should not be abandoned when a split-second decision made on the street becomes the subject of months—or years—of analysis in a courtroom.

Officer Magnano’s future may now depend on whether his attorneys have the resources necessary to present the entire story: the failed attempts to stop Jones with less-lethal force, the repeated commands to drop the knife, Magnano’s retreat, the closing distance, and the danger Magnano perceived in the final moments before he fired.

Please consider donating to help Officer Joseph Magnano and his family through this incredibly difficult fight.

Your support can help NCPD provide the legal resources and qualified experts necessary to ensure Joey receives a complete and vigorous defense.

Any amount helps.

Please stand with Joey and his family, and help ensure that when this case reaches the courtroom, the jury hears the full story of that terrifying encounter and the threat that Officer Magnano felt and helped to neutralize to protect the victim, his fellow officers, and the community at large.

To donate to Officer Magnano’s case, visit our donation page here: https://nationalcenterforpolicedefense.com/donate/