A Connecticut state trooper who fatally shot a man in 2020 after a high-speed chase of a stolen car was arraigned in Milford Superior Court on Tuesday.

Fellow law enforcement officers gathered at the courthouse to show support for Trooper Brian North, which the family of the slain driver, Mubarak Soulemane, called a failed intimidation tactic.

Dressed in a black suit, North appeared briefly and his case was continued to June 2 and transferred to the part of court that handles more serious cases. North did not speak or enter a plea. As he left the courthouse holding hands with a young woman, family and supporters of Soulemane chanted, “Justice for Mubarak!” over and over.

Neither North nor his attorney, Jeffrey Ment, would comment after the court appearance.

Charged with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm, North faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a mandatory minimum of five years behind bars if convicted. He has been free after turning himself in on April 19 and posting bail of $50,000.

North shot and killed Soulemane, 19, of New Haven, at the end of a high-speed chase on Jan. 15. The chase started after Soulemane tried to steal an iPhone from an AT&T store, slapped a Lyft driver and stole the driver’s white 2012 Hyundai Sonata, authorities say.

Soulemane veered off I-95 North in West Haven and crashed into an SUV under an overpass after flying down the highway at more than 100 mph with state troopers on his tail. Footage from the scene shows troopers and a West Haven police officer descending on the car after it was stopped off Exit 43 and blocked by police cars. A video of the shooting shows North, who is white, firing seven shots into the car after the trooper allegedly saw Soulemane, who is Black, with a knife.

Inspector General Robert J. Devlin Jr. concluded, however, that neither North nor two other officers outside the car were in imminent danger of having deadly force used against them. Devlin added that due to the police car blocking his door, Soulemane could not have gotten out.

“Although [Soulemane] held a knife in his right hand, he was not using the knife against them nor presenting any imminent threat to do so,” he wrote.

Soulemane’s family had called for an independent investigation and for the trooper’s arrest after the shooting. They said he was a community college student who had schizophrenia.

Soulemane had been reported missing by his family the morning he was shot, according to a police report. The family told police he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 14. Loved ones said he was acting erratic and paranoid and likely wasn’t taking his medication, according to the report.

Soulemane’s mother, Omo Klusum Mohammed, was in Uganda visiting family when the shooting happened. On Tuesday in front of the courthouse, Mohammed said, “I’m here for justice for my son,” whom she said was “massacred” by North.

“The police say, ‘Policing is dead.’ We say Mubarak Soulemane is dead because of Trooper Brian North. Mubarak’s legacy will be real lasting change from coast to coast,” Soulemane family attorney Mark Arons said.

“Police across the country are now on notice — at long last and forevermore — that while police are necessary and vital, the tactics and training must change,” Arons said. “The use of force — the use of deadly force — must be the very last option and not the first choice. Mubarak’s legacy will be a real, lasting change from coast to coast that results in saving lives for years to come.”

About 15 fellow law enforcement officers who gathered at the courthouse before and during the arraignment would not comment. Soulemane family spokesman Rev. Kevin McCall said the family would not be intimidated by the show of support for North and vowed that family and supporters will be at every court appearance.

Arons and Sanford Rubenstein, attorneys for the family, appeared in court and spoke after the arraignment. Rubenstein said he looked forward to a jury’s decision “that this was an execution.”

The state police union has extended condolences to Soulemane’s family, saying, “No Connecticut state trooper ever intends to or has the desire to take the life of another human being.”

But a state police union call to rally for North at his arraignment said, “We are all disappointed that the politically appointed Inspector General, independently, made the decision to prosecute Trooper North, who was forced to make a split-second decision during these dangerous and rapidly evolving circumstances.

“We believe Trooper North acted objectively reasonable during this violent encounter and we believe a jury will find reasonable doubt and acquit him of these serious charges, " the notice said.

“This rally is about more than just the arrest of Trooper North,” the notice said. “It’s about sending a clear message to the politicians that a police officer’s job is inherently dangerous — and that ALL officers — regardless of the uniform they wear — will defend and support each other.”

McCall said Tuesday that the union’s condolences are meaningless, and he called on union leaders to “show some emotional intelligence.”

North is the third Connecticut police officer to be arrested for fatal shootings dating back to 1998.