Community Birthday Cookout Celebrates Life of Katherine Colon – Continues Justice for Katherine Campaign

Family and friends of Katherine Colon and other activists held a special Birthday Community Cookout in Central Park on Sunday, “dedicated to honoring Katherine’s memory through harm reduction, food, love, and meaningful community connections.”

The event included food, games and fond remembrances of Colon, along with a continuation of the Justice for Katherine campaign.

That campaign has included a series of protests and advocacy since New Britain Police officer Connor Reinsch struck and killed Katherine Colon with the police car he was driving, as Colon was crossing West Main Street on September 21, 2023.

There was a large protest in October of 2023 in downtown New Britain calling for justice for Colon, another protest on September of 2024, held one year after Colon was killed and another protest was held in December of 2024, interrupting Mayor Erin Stewart (R) during the official city Christmas tree lighting event.

Family of Colon and other protesters have been calling for the firing of Reinsch, and have noted that a motorist other than a police officer who struck and killed a pedestrian would likely be arrested and even jailed.

A protest was held at the city Police Headquarters in March of 2024 in reaction to a February 24, 2024 report by State Attorney Maureen Platt clearing Reinsch of criminal liability.

Platt, in her report, had concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge Reinsch with a crime in the case. Her report had noted that he was traveling at, perhaps, 60 miles per hour on West Main Street, while traveling to a police call without his emergency lights on. Reinsch was quoted in saying that he was traveling to, “intercept an active burglary suspect” and that his attention was on another pedestrian he thought may be in medical distress when he struck Colon.

Platt’s conclusions were largely based on a state investigation that had concluded that it was Colon’s actions that, “were the causative factors for the collision, placing herself in unnecessary danger,” because, it said, she did not use the crosswalk and crossed the street diagonally, wore dark clothing and that she was intoxicated.

Protesters have taken great issue these conclusions, calling the reasoning to be “victim blaming.”