Police: Trooper Fatally Shoots Man In Quincy

A 41-year-old New Bedford man was shot and killed Friday by a veteran state trooper responding to a report of an erratic driver who may have had a medical emergency, state police said.

Wilfredo Justiniano Jr. and the 25-year veteran officer were involved in a "violent confrontation" just after 8 a.m. on Route 28 in Quincy, prompting the trooper to fire his gun, said Col. Timothy Alben.

"The suspect was subsequently taken to Milton Hospital and was pronounced dead there," Alben said.

Although Justiniano's vehicle had stopped, Alben did not say whether he was inside or outside at the time of the shooting, or if he had a weapon.

The trooper's name was not released, but he has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

The episode started after a woman called Milton police to report that another motorist was apparently having some sort of medical emergency and driving erratically. Milton police forwarded the call to state police.

Investigators still are trying to piece together what happened.

"A good number of witnesses are being interviewed," said Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, whose office is investigating.

Justiniano's family told The Boston Globe he was a disabled man whose mental illness had kept him from working recently, and that he was in the Quincy area visiting his father.

His younger sister, Damaris Justiniano of New Bedford, said, "The way he went down is unbelievable. He was a quiet person. He didn't do any harm to anybody. He was always to himself."