Justice for Katherine Colon was denied 

They say justice delayed is justice denied. Sometimes, it is plainly and simply denied. 

In the early morning of Sept. 21, 2023, Katherine Colon was killed by a New Britain police cruiser speeding, without its strobe lights or sirens on, to respond to a non-emergency call. Colon, 40, a mother of four and a beloved community member, was struck by officer Connor Reinsch, who was placed on restricted duty while the investigation of Colon’s death was turned from the New Britain Police Department to state police. 

Last week, on Feb. 24, the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Waterbury, Maureen Platt, published a report placing the preponderance of blame for her death on Colon herself. The 132-page document, entitled “Report Regarding the Death of Katherine Colon on September 21, 2023,” largely exculpated Reinsch of wrongdoing through detailed recreations of the collision, examinations of legal precedent and the results of an autopsy identifying Colon as being under the influence of fentanyl and alcohol. A state police report included in Platt’s dossier charged Colon with “intentionally placing herself in unnecessary danger,” ascribing intentionality to a deceased person and undercutting its own conclusion that being inebriated impaired her decision making. After offering the paltry affirmation that Colon’s death to those close to her must be “undoubtedly immeasurable,” Platt concluded that “the State cannot sustain its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt to sustain a conviction” against Reinsch.  

While the State’s Attorney concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to convict Reinsch of any charges — including misconduct or manslaughter in the second degree, which are relatively easier to prove — the reasons for this as laid out in the report are weak. For example, the report acknowledges that at approximately 1:00 a.m., Reinsch was driving as fast as 60 miles per hour on a street where the speed limit is 25 miles per hour and slammed into Colon at speeds as fast as 51 miles per hour. Earlier, it also notes that Reinsch was not protected by state law loosening speed limit rules for emergency vehicles because he did not have his strobe lights or siren on. Despite this — and the fact that there were other pedestrians and eyewitnesses out and visible that early morning, meaning the possibility of individuals crossing the street was far from small — the state could not so much as accuse Reinsch of ordinary negligence, which state law defines as “from the standard of care or conduct a person should reasonably follow under the circumstances.” 

According to the report, Reinsch was called to respond to a burglary, the main suspect of which having already been identified and their vehicle located. If going 60 in a 25 represents the typical “standard of care” for a pursuit that was neither an active chase nor deemed an emergency, then whoever wrote the Connecticut tort law has probably never been in a motor vehicle. 

Colon’s death is also colored by additional context. As one community member whose usual walking route passes by the site of the collision noted to Eyewitness News, “There’s no cross walk down here and that’s what happened. It’s dangerous.” The apparent lack of available crosswalks complicates the narrative that Colon was putting herself in unnecessary danger by crossing the street in the dark; on a street with pedestrians present and no crosswalks to mark their passage, shouldn’t all motorists exercise caution? 

To Colon’s friends and family, the facts offered by police didn’t add up last fall, nor do they add up now. Gathered under a broad, rapidly organized coalition donning the name “Justice4KatherineColon” on social media, members of the community mobilized Sunday, March 3 to demand the arrest, termination and decertification of Reinsch. The protesters made the powerful display of occupying the police department building and parts of the street in order to show unmistakable support for accountability and their unwavering commitment to winning justice for Colon.  

“This is a disgrace to Katherine, her family, and the entire New Britain community,” the group said of Platt’s report in a statement and call to action on Instagram. “The officer’s reckless driving is the ultimate reason for this tragic death.” 

The law is not an exact science. Justice is not a formula that can cleanly accept inputs and produce a completely fair output. As such, the actions of the state, being the ultimate decision maker on matters of justice, often leaves out the frustrations and experiences of the most marginalized communities. And in a media environment that often privileges the accounts of police over the interventions of the community, a story about an intoxicated woman exhibiting careless behavior at night is much more palatable than a broader story about police being able to take lives with impunity. Students at the University of Connecticut should care about Katherine Colon and use the state’s response to her death as a case study for how it can creatively skirt around police accountability. Colon, her family and friends deserve justice; the endless imagination and tremendous power of the people are far better suited to achieve that than police and courts.