NEWS RELEASE
Date: September
1, 2021
Incident: Breach
of Peace Arrest
Issued By: Captain Jeremiah P. Marron Jr.
Incident Type: Breach of Peace
Incident # 2021-011788
Blotter Date/Time 08/27/2021
23:33 hrs.
Location: Tulip
Tree Ln. Darien, CT
Arrested Shandaken
Ford
DOB: 11/23/1999
Address: 2183
Post Rd Darien, CT
Charges 53a-61:
Assault 3rd Degree
53a-181: Breach of
Peace
53a-116: Criminal
Mischief 2nd
Darien, CT - The Darien Police Department received a report
of a Breach of Peace outside of a Tulip Tree Ln residence between an UBER
driver and one of his passengers at approximately 11:30pm on August 27, 2021.
Initial investigation determined that the UBER driver was the victim in the
incident and sustained minor injuries and was subsequently transported to the
hospital. The suspect fled the scene on foot prior to officers’ arrival. The immediate area was searched with the use
of a Police K-9 from the Westport Police Department, however the suspect could
not be located.
Further investigation identified the
suspect as Shandaken Ford, age 21, of 2183 Post Rd. Darien. A significant portion of this incident was
documented on video and depicts Ford punching the victim and acting extremely
aggressively toward the victim. During
the altercation, Ford also caused minor damage to the interior of the victim’s
vehicle.
On the night in question, follow up
investigation included multiple attempts to locate him at his residence. Officers were able to make contact with
family members however he could not be located during the evening and overnight
hours.
An arrest warrant affidavit was
completed, and submitted to Stamford Superior Court once it opened for business
the morning of Monday August 30th.
The warrant was then granted and signed by the Honorable Judge Clark on
Tuesday August 31st. After securing the
signed warrant from Stamford Superior Court on the morning of Wednesday September
1st, this agency without delay contacted Ford’s Attorney and Ford promptly
turned himself in at Darien Police Headquarters. Ford was then fingerprinted, photographed and
fully processed for the above charges and was released on a $5,000.00
bond. He is scheduled to appear in
Stamford Superior Court on September 13, 2021.
From the Office of the Chief of Police, Don Anderson:
This fact pattern and set of circumstances
contained in this incident are highly distressing to me and certainly not
indicative of reasonable conduct. I have been closely monitoring the published
news stories as well as the social media postings/online comments concerning
this incident. To be clear; this type of unprovoked behavior is certainly not
in line with the beliefs and reasonable actions of virtually all Darien
residents and visitors to our town and should not, and will not, be tolerated. I have read the many comments questioning why
the accused was not arrested sooner so please allow me offer my explanative
comment here. The accused is now charged
with misdemeanor criminal charges; in these types of cases, if the accused is
not apprehended at the scene or in close proximity (in physical location and/or
in time), the police are required to prepare and submit an arrest warrant
application to a “neutral and detached magistrate.” That is exactly what occurred here. I commend
the officers involved for their professional and diligent work on this
incident. It was properly, expeditiously
and thoroughly investigated; an arrest warrant application was quickly
generated and submitted for judicial review the first thing Monday morning
following the incident. Now that an
arrest has been made, the incident rests in the hands of the Judicial Branch of
government for potential prosecution and ultimate incident disposition.
####END OF RELEASE####