Officer who shot rampaging chimp prepares to address Conn. lawmakers about his trauma

Officer who shot chimp to address Conn. lawmakers

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut police officer who fatally shot a rampaging chimpanzee is expected to testify before state lawmakers about the need for workers compensation laws to cover counseling.

Frank Chiafari shot the chimp after it mauled and blinded its owner’s friend about a year ago in Stamford.

He is scheduled to appear Thursday before a legislative panel considering whether to allow claims for mental or emotional impairment when officers use deadly force on animals that try to injure them.

Chiafari has told The New York Times he was traumatized and sometimes imagined that women he saw in public had no faces. The city of Stamford ultimately paid his counseling bills.