Connecticut Federal Judge Strikes Police Officer With Car

The New Haven Register is reporting:

The motorist who struck and critically injured a city police officer working a traffic detail Tuesday is a senior federal judge in New Haven, sources said.

John M. Walker, Jr., who is in his mid-60s, had been the chief judge for the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for six years until Sept. 30, when he assumed senior status with the federal judiciary.

Police sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said Walker was the driver of the sport utility vehicle that struck Officer Dan Picagli, a 17-year veteran, on Chapel Street in Wooster Square. Picagli, 38, remains in critical condition at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

UPDATE: The Hartford Courant is reporting that Officer Picagli, a much revered member of his community, died Saturday night. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.