"I have been here for 35 years and something similar has not occurred in that time," he said.

Maxwell said he would estimate that the last time an officer fatally shot a citizen was in the first half of the last century.

The incident occurred at nearly 4 a.m. Saturday, after officers responded to a complaint from Frances Wellner, who lives at 315 Wilbar Drive.

According to police, Wellner said she was not home, but someone had called to tell her that a male acquaintance had forced his way into her house.

When Lt. Ronald Jersey and Officer Jeff Nattras arrived, they ordered the 37-year-old intruder, Ronald Wagner, to leave the home.

"When he exited, he had a long gun in his hands," Sgt. J. Paul Vance said in a prepared statement. "He was ordered by police to drop the weapon. He refused to comply with that direction and began to advance toward the police officers in a threatening manner."

Both officers shot Wagner, severely wounding him, Vance said. EMS took Wagner to Bridgeport Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The chief state's medical examiner determined the gunshot wounds caused Wagner's death.

Jersey, a 31-year veteran of the Stratford Police Department, and Nattras, a two-year member of the force, have been on administrative duty since the incident, pending completion of the state police investigation.

Such investigations are automatic when an officer kills someone.

'Quiet' neighborhood

Though Wellner's neighbors were reluctant to talk about the shooting, Mark Karagus, a Wilbar Drive resident, said the neighborhood is typically quiet.

"I didn't hear anything early that morning," he said, "but when I went outside it was all roped off and I saw at least eight cop cars and an ambulance."

Karagus said he supports the action police took.

"It is unfortunate that someone had to die," he said, "but if someone came out waving a gun around, you can't really blame the cops."

According to Connecticut General Statutes, a state or local police officer is justified in shooting someone when he reasonably believes it is necessary to defend himself or someone else from the use or imminent use of deadly physical force.

Officers also are justified in using deadly force to "prevent the escape from custody of someone whom the officer reasonably believes committed or attempted to commit a felony involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious physical injury, and if, where feasible, he warned of his intent to use deadly physical force."

The General Assembly's website, www.cga.ct.gov, lists the principal issues surrounding the use of deadly force.

These issues are identified as whether or not the officer believed that someone was using or about to use deadly force against him and he needed to use deadly force to defend himself, and that the officer's belief was reasonable.