New London State's Attorney Michael L. Regan has found that New London police officers were justified in their use of force when trying to subdue Lashano Gilbert, who died Oct. 4 last year while en route from the police department to the hospital.

In a report released Thursday by the state Division of Criminal Justice, Regan wrote that the officers' use of physical force was necessary to restrain Gilbert in order to prevent him from harming himself and the police officers present and to prevent his escape.

"The use of physical force was, therefore, appropriate," Regan wrote.

Gilbert, 31, a native of the Bahamas who graduated from medical school in Cuba, was arrested Oct. 3 as a suspect in an attempted carjacking.

He was stunned with a Taser after, police said, he rushed at an officer.

Later that night, Gilbert was involved in a struggle with several officers after fleeing his jail cell and was stunned twice more, according to police.

Police said Gilbert, who had surprised family members with his visit to New London via Canada, was acting in a bizarre manner during the attempted carjacking and while in his holding cell.

He was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital following his arrest to remove prongs that attach to the skin when a person is struck with a Taser.

The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Gilbert's death a homicide caused by a "physical altercation (restraint, electric shock, pepper spray) during acute psychosis complicating sickle cell hemoglobinopathy."

A ruling of homicide by the medical examiner does not indicate any criminal wrongdoing. It means that the medical examiner has ruled that Gilbert's death was at least in part caused by the actions of others.

According to the report, Gilbert left Toronto on the morning of Oct. 2, 2014, arriving at Kennedy Airport later that morning.

Gilbert's mother, who lives in the Bahamas, told police he was supposed to arrive in their homeland Oct. 2.

She said he never arrived and she never received a call from him.

The day before, Oct. 1, Gilbert called Kemi Apanisile, a friend from Canada, and told him he was "stressed out." The next day, Apanisile received another phone call from Gilbert, who told him he was in New York City.

During that conversation, Gilbert told Apanisile, "'God is raining revenge on the non-believers by giving them HIV and Ebola,'" Apanisile said.

He said Gilbert told him he was going to get a train from JFK Airport to go to Connecticut to see his aunt to get the "'witchcraft off of him,'" the report said.

Apanisile said he tried calling Gilbert back but was unable to make contact with him.

Gilbert's aunt, Bertha Fletcher, told police Gilbert arrived at her Garfield Avenue home on the evening of Oct. 2. She said she was not expecting a visit from him.

She told police Gilbert was acting weird, praying a lot and speaking in tongues. She said she saw him briefly on the morning of Oct. 3.

Neighbors that morning had called police to report a suspicious man, later identified as Gilbert, who was acting strange, waving his arms in the air and speaking in tongues.

At 6:32 a.m. Oct. 3 police made contact with Gilbert. He was found to be cooperative and police took no criminal action against him, the report said.

That same day, around 7 p.m., police received several 911 calls to report a carjacking on Williams Street.

"Officer Kurt Lavimoniere stated that when he arrived he observed a female in the driver's seat of a white sedan signaling to him for assistance," the report said. "As he stopped his patrol vehicle, he observed a black male, later identified as Lashano Gilbert, inside the vehicle on top of the female actively assaulting her by striking her in the head and upper body with his hands. Before Officer Lavimoniere could issue any commands, Gilbert exited the vehicle and ran directly at Officer Lavimoniere yelling incoherently and flailing his arms. Fearing Gilbert intended to assault him, Officer Lavimoniere drew and fired his Taser, striking Gilbert in the chest. Gilbert was about 10 feet away and the single five-second discharge from the Taser had an immediate effect on Gilbert, causing him to fall to the ground."

Lavimoniere left his Taser activated to use its audio-video function to record the interaction with Gilbert.

The video shows Gilbert lying on the pavement, with the Taser wire leading from the Taser to a portion of Gilbert's body out of range of the camera. The audio is discernible at times and indiscernible at other times, the report said.

The report said Gilbert could be heard explaining that he was walking by a cemetery when a ghost jumped out of the cemetery and went into his stomach. He became terrified and jumped into the woman's car to try to get help.

Gilbert said he was trying to get help because the ghost was inside him and he couldn't breathe. The ghost told Gilbert that he was going to take his life if he did not bring him to a cemetery in the Bahamas.

Gilbert arrived at 7:22 p.m. at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, where he was uncooperative, the report said.

Officer Patricia Tidd was sent to the hospital to guard Gilbert. She said Gilbert told her that his aunt had put a curse on him.

Gilbert was released from the hospital at 9:53 p.m. and taken back to the police department.

At 11 p.m. while in the holding cell, he was given the pair of jeans he had been wearing earlier because he said he was cold, the report said. At 2:25 a.m. Gilbert was observed standing on the half wall next to the holding tank.

Lavimoniere entered the holding tank and instructed Gilbert to get down. The report said Gilbert was agitated but complied. 

Twelve minutes later, Sgt. Scott Johnson and Lavimoniere entered the holding cell because they saw Gilbert twisting his jeans and attempting to attach them to a vent.

They wanted to prevent him from harming himself, the report said, so Lavimoniere attempted to put his hand on Gilbert's chest in order to push him back into the cell.

The report said Gilbert lunged at him and attempted to take his Taser, which was holstered on his belt. Gilbert managed to get into the booking room.

During the struggle, Gilbert managed to rip the battery/camera from the Taser, making it inoperable.

The report said Gilbert started to throw items from the booking room at the officers.

"Officer (Melissa) Schafranski-Broadbent observed Gilbert violently rip the gas canister from the Intoxilyzer machine, lift it over his head, and make motions as if he was going to throw the canister at them," the report said. "Officer Lavimoniere lifted his arm to block Gilbert from striking him with the canister, at which time Gilbert threw the remainder of the Intoxilyzer machine at him. Officer Schafranski-Broadbent said Gilbert then ran past Officer Lavimoniere towards her with closed fists. She said Gilbert began to put her in a choke-hold."

Officer Doreen Coe, in a written statement, said when she arrived to assist, Gilbert was actively struggling and attempting to bite the officers. She deployed her Taser and "drive stunned" Gilbert on his lower back.

Drive stun is the application of the Taser against a person's body without firing the projectiles.

He did not stop struggling so she used the Taser again. The downloaded Taser report showed the Taser was first used at 2:43 a.m. for five seconds and again at 2:45 a.m. for five seconds.

It took Lavimoniere and at least five officers to place Gilbert in handcuffs, the report said.

An ambulance arrived at the police station at 2:52 a.m. Gilbert was placed face down on the stretcher, speaking unintelligibly and attempting to bite the officers.

The report said a white sheet and then a soft mask were placed on Gilbert's face to prevent him from biting. On the way to the hospital, the report said, he stopped moving.

Officers inside the ambulance turned Gilbert around and started to perform CPR on him. He was admitted into the hospital at 3 a.m. 

After attempts to revive him failed, he was declared deceased at 3:23 a.m. 

Gilbert's family in March filed a notice of intent to file a wrongful death suit against police, claiming he was "wrongfully tased, beaten, arrested and detained by New London police."

Citing possible civil litigation, New London Deputy Police Chief Peter Reichard declined to comment.

Attorney Jamaal Johnson, who represents members of Gilbert’s family, could not be reached to comment.

i.larraneta@theday.com

Twitter: @larraneta