Naugatuck Man Injures State Trooper While Fleeing a Police Attempted Traffic Stop

This has been Naugatuck's week to lead the Connecticut law enforcement arrest blotter. Yesterday I wrote an article about two half-naked men from Naugy that had been arrested, and now another incident involving a Naugatuck resident occurred along I-84 in West Hartford.

According to a press release we just received from the Connecticut State Police, last night, Thursday, November 19, 2020 at around 10PM, Troop H in Hartford received numerous reports of a driver in a Ford F350 on 84 Eastbound erratically swerving across all three lanes of traffic, nearly striking numerous vehicles in the vicinity of exit 34 in Plainville.

Troopers were able to box in the F350 in the vicinity of Exit 40 in West Hartford, near the Westfarms Mall area. Trooper Dillon, from Troop H, climbed up on the running board of the huge F350, in an attempt to open the door.

Police report that the operator of the F350, identified as 36-year-old Daniel Rapuano of Millville Ave in Naugatuck, refused to comply with the trooper's demands, and sped away, throwing Trooper Dillon off the truck, into the center of I-84.

Trooper Dillon was able to get up, after suffering minor injuries, sped up, and took out Rapuano's right-rear quarter panel, causing the F350 to spin out into the center median in the vicinity or Exit 43 in West Hartford. Rapuano was taken into custody, and faces a slew of charges, including Reckless Driving, Operating Under the Influence, numerous assault charges, and Reckless Endangerment. Rapuano was already on supervised parole, and now is being held on a $250,000 bond.