HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut police officer pleaded not guilty Tuesday to manslaughter and other charges in the death of a 15-year-old boy who was riding his bike home from a friend's house when police say he was hit by a speeding car.
Windsor Locks Officer Michael Koistinen, 24, was arraigned in Hartford Superior Court on charges that also included negligent homicide, motor vehicle misconduct and attempted tampering with evidence. A judge continued the case to Jan. 7, and Koistinen remained free on $50,000 bail.
Authorities say Koistinen, of Suffield, was driving an off-duty vehicle at least 73 mph in a 35 mph zone when his car struck Henry Dang. The accident happened at about midnight on Oct. 29 in Windsor Locks. Witnesses told police Koistinen drank alcohol that evening and refused a blood test at a hospital after the accident.
Koistinen's lawyer, Elliot Spector, said outside the courthouse that his client wasn't drunk and that any driver would have had trouble avoiding the accident because it was dark.
"There were no people that were with him face to face … who observed any signs of intoxication," Spector said.
Koistinen declined to comment.
Several members of Dang's family, including his mother and father, attended the arraignment and told their lawyer, James Bartolini, that they didn't want to comment.
In response to Spector's comments, Bartolini noted that the arrest warrant for Koistinen includes several witness statements saying the officer was drinking all night. One witness who lived near the accident site told a police dispatcher in a 911 call that the car's driver "might be drunk."
Bartolini also said there are questions about Windsor Locks police's response to the accident, including why no officers performed a field sobriety test on Koistinen or asked him if he had been drinking before he was taken to a hospital more than an hour after the accident.
If the driver hadn't been a police officer, "I think there would have been a more aggressive interrogation," he said.
Family and friends have told reporters that Dang, a sophomore at Windsor Locks High School, was a popular student who got good grades and played on the basketball and track-and-field teams.
A 21-page arrest warrant affidavit prepared by state police paints a troubling portrait of Koistinen's activities in the hours leading up to the accident, and raises questions about how Windsor Locks police responded to an accident involving one of their own.
State police say Koistinen began drinking alcohol at about 5:30 p.m. at a friend's house, then went to a tailgating event outside a University of Connecticut football game in East Hartford and continued drinking. Police say he never went inside the stadium.
Troopers say Koistinen and others then returned to a friend's house in Windsor Locks and continued drinking beer. Police say Koistinen later went to the Suffield Tavern in Suffield and drank more alcohol including shots of liquor. Witnesses told authorities he left the tavern after 11:30 p.m.
State police say surveillance video shows Koistinen walking in an "unsteady manner" while leaving the tavern.
State police say Koistinen's father, Windsor Locks police Sgt. Robert Koistinen, was among those who responded to the accident. Troopers say Robert Koistinen drove between the accident scene and the police station a few times, and may have had his son in his police SUV with him.
Police also say they searched Koistinen's car and found an unopened 30-pack of beer, several beer bottle caps and a half-empty bottle of black berry brandy.
More than an hour after the accident, Michael Koistinen was taken by ambulance to Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, state police say. Other hospitals in Hartford are closer to the scene.
Troopers say emergency medical personnel at the scene said they didn't suspect alcohol was involved, although one said he did notice a "fruity" odor while talking with Koistinen. A doctor at the hospital said he didn't smell alcohol on Koistinen's breath.
Bartolini said the family is still shaken by what happened.
"The family is still very much in mourning," Bartolini said. "They were crushed by the entire situation."