Bridgeport man pleads no contest in DUI death of Shelton cop, faces up to 4 years in prison

Bruce Knapik, right, appears in Superior Court in Derby last August with his attorney, Edward Gavin, to face charges in the July 3 accident that resulted in the death of Shelton police Sgt. Orville Smith. Mara Lavitt/Register


By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Naugatuck Valley Bureau Chief
A man accused of driving drunk and then hitting Shelton police Sgt. Orville Smith, fatally injuring him, pleaded no contest to second degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle Wednesday in Superior Court in Derby.
Bruce Knapik, 64, of Bridgeport, is expected to get two to four years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 5, under the terms of a plea bargain agreement. That term would be followed by three years of probation. If he violates terms of his probation, he would face 10 years in prison.        
Knapik’s defense attorney, Edward Gavin of Bridgeport, had met with prosecutor Marjorie Sozanski and Judge Burton Kaplan in recent weeks to discuss a resolution of the case, and the state made a plea offer in September.                                                   


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