Meriden Police released body camera and additional camera footage Tuesday from a fatal officer-involved shooting on Sagamore Road.
Officers responded around 10 a.m. Sunday, July 19, 2026, to reports of an active domestic violence incident, with callers saying the suspect was armed with a weapon. The first officer on scene found 38-year-old Robert Lee Jenkins III striking another man in the head with a baseball bat. The officer ordered Jenkins III to drop the bat four times. Jenkins III did not comply and continued striking the man, who was lying motionless on the front lawn.
The officer discharged his firearm numerous times. Multiple rounds struck Jenkins III, who dropped the bat and fell to the ground.
Free — the opening chapterUnits Are SurroundedFive shootings in five months between members of the Soboba Indian Reservation and law enforcement in the Hemet area of Riverside County. My story about being in the middle of it. The full book is coming.Read how it starts
Jenkins III was transported to Hartford Hospital and died at 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The man he assaulted was pronounced dead at the scene. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled both deaths homicides — Jenkins III from multiple gunshot wounds of the torso, the other man from blunt force head injuries.
Units Are Surrounded
The new book from Ray Dietrich. Five shootings in five months in Riverside County. The full book is coming - read how it starts, free.
