CT man pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2023 crash that killed Hartford police officer

Yahoo

09-04-2025

A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to felony charges in connection with a crash that killed a Hartford police officer and seriously injured another officer in 2023.
Richard Barrington, 20, appeared Tuesday in Hartford Superior Court where he took a plea bargain that required him to plead guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault with extreme indifference to human life for the death of Hartford Det. Robert 'Bobby' Garten, according to court records.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Barrington was pulled over by two officers with the South Street Crimes Unit on Sept. 6, 2023, at 10:24 p.m. in the area of 285 Broad St. Officers allegedly saw him run a red light and found that the registration on the 2006 Honda Accord he was driving was canceled, police wrote in the warrant affidavit.
Barrington, who was 18 years old at the time, initially pulled over for police but sped off as they approached his vehicle on foot, the warrant affidavit said. He would later tell investigators he was scared because he only had a learner's permit and the plate on the Accord belonged to another vehicle, according to the warrant affidavit. He also allegedly admitted to police he had a backpack with marijuana and a scale inside and that he had smoked marijuana about an hour before, police wrote.
The officers who conducted the stop did not pursue Barrington, the Connecticut State Police who reviewed surveillance footage found. Footage also showed that Barrington ran a red light on Broad Street at the Farmington Avenue intersection and a second red light at Asylum Avenue where he struck a cruiser with its lights and sirens on with Officer Brian Kearney and the 34-year-old Garten inside, the warrant affidavit said. The officers were responding to an unrelated call for service and were unaware that an individual had just fled a traffic stop.
Barrington allegedly told investigators he fled the crash and called a friend to tell him he was running from the police, the warrant affidavit said.
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Garten, a second-generation police officer who was posthumously promoted to detective, was taken to Saint Francis Hospital and pronounced dead at 11:22 p.m.
Kearney suffered what state police described as 'life-altering' injuries, which included internal bleeding that threatened his life. He spent eight days in the hospital before he was released.
Barrington was taken to Hartford Hospital for suspected minor injuries. He was evaluated hours after the crash by a drug recognition expert who allegedly concluded that his impairment from marijuana made him unfit to drive a car, the warrant affidavit said. Blood drawn from Barrington showed the presence of THC, according to the warrant affidavit.
Barrington remains held on a $1 million bond and is expected to face sentencing on June 20. Under the terms of the plea deal, several charges are expected to be dropped, including those of operating under the influence, reckless driving, running from police and others.
'We will save our comments for Judge (David) Gold at the sentencing hearing on June 20,' Barrington's attorney, Bridgeport-based lawyer Cameron Atkinson, said Wednesday when asked for comment. 'Thanks for understanding.'
A spokesperson for the Hartford Police Union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.