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Robert Lee Jenkins III

Age : 38

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 07/19/2026

Location : Sagamore Road

City : Meriden

County : New Haven

State : Connecticut

Agency : Meriden Police Department

Officer(s) :Officer Stephen H. Moreno,Anthony Offiaeli

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police following assault

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 07/19/2026 at approximately 10:00 a.m., Meriden Police Department officers responded to the 100 block of Sagamore Road after multiple 911 callers reported an active domestic violence assault involving a man armed with a baseball bat. Officers arrived and immediately observed 38-year-old Robert Lee Jenkins III repeatedly striking another man in the head with the bat in the front yard of the residence.
Body-worn camera and dashboard camera footage released by the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General show Officer Anthony Offiaeli exiting his patrol vehicle and repeatedly ordering Jenkins to drop the bat. Despite multiple commands, Jenkins continued striking the victim, later identified as his 69-year-old father, Robert Jenkins Jr. Officer Offiaeli fired his service weapon, striking Jenkins. The Inspector General's report states Offiaeli discharged 18 rounds, several of which struck Jenkins.
Officers secured the baseball bat and rendered emergency medical aid. Robert Jenkins Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene from catastrophic blunt-force head injuries. Robert Lee Jenkins III was transported to Hartford Hospital, where he died later that evening from multiple gunshot wounds. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled both deaths homicides.
The Connecticut Office of the Inspector General assumed responsibility for investigating the police shooting, while the Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad investigated the homicide of Robert Jenkins Jr. On 07/21/2026, the Inspector General publicly released Officer Offiaeli's body-worn camera, dashboard camera video, radio traffic, and a preliminary investigative report identifying both the officer and Robert Lee Jenkins III.
Court records reviewed after the shooting showed Jenkins had a documented history of assault-related convictions and mental health struggles. His attorney stated Jenkins had experienced longstanding mental health issues but had shown improvement in recent years before the fatal incident.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/new-haven-county/meriden/officer-shoots-suspect-who-allegedly-beat-person-to-death-with-baseball-bat-in-meriden-ct/520-3169f917-dfb8-4811-9d5e-cda28fe80e45
https://www.wfsb.com/2026/07/19/heavy-police-presence-seen-sagamore-road-meriden/
https://www.wfsb.com/2026/07/21/bodycam-video-released-meriden-police-shooting-that-left-two-men-dead/