‘Stunning display of incompetence’ by cops led officer to get shot, OH suit says
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An Ohio police officer is suing after he says he was shot by an armed suspect due to the “incompetence” of other cops.
The lawsuit was filed by “John Doe” and “Jane Doe” in Franklin County Common Pleas against five Whitehall police officers.
McClatchy News reached out to the city of Whitehall for comment June 26 but did not immediately hear back.
According to the lawsuit, Whitehall police officers showed a “stunning display of incompetence” in an attempt to capture an armed suspect.
On July 6, 2023, a man walked into a car dealership in Whitehall and stole a Porsche Cayenne at gunpoint, according to a civil complaint.
The man had a handgun with an extended magazine and asked employees, “Are you ready to die?” the complaint said. This information was relayed to police when they responded to the business, according to the lawsuit.
Officers tracked the vehicle, which was located in Columbus. That’s when a Whitehall officer contacted Columbus dispatch and notified them of the suspect, but failed to mention that the suspect was armed, the lawsuit said.
“So, I don’t know if you’re aware, there’s a black Porsche Cayenne that was stolen from one of our lots. I guess somebody’s speaking to an operator with the tracking company because they’re locating it. They’re tracking it in Columbus. My deputy chief says that he does not want any Columbus officers to go near that vehicle or to pursue this at all because we’re going out there. So, I was just told to pass that along if you could tell them that,” the officer told the dispatcher, according to the lawsuit.
Whitehall officers located the stolen vehicle, which then had at least two occupants in it, and tracked it to a bank, the lawsuit said. When the driver went inside the bank, officers set up a perimeter around the parking lot to block the vehicle from leaving once the driver returned, the complaint said.
However, they failed to perform “proper vehicle blocking or takedown procedures,” and they failed to “follow proper tactics to block the vehicle,” which allowed the suspects to escape, the lawsuit said.
According to WSYX, the suspects robbed the bank.
Columbus officers began to assist in the pursuit after the bank called 911, but they were not notified by Whitehall police, the lawsuit said.
That’s when Columbus officer “John Doe” located the suspects and followed the stolen vehicle, the lawsuit said.
When the officer got out of his cruiser and ordered one of the suspects to stop, the suspect shot the officer, the complaint said.
The officer was “severely and permanently injured,” according to the lawsuit.
The suspect who shot the officer died at the scene in a shootout with police, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Two other suspects who were in the vehicle took off before being caught and arrested, according to the outlet.
The complaint said it was because of the “breach of their duty of care” by Whitehall cops that officer John Doe was injured.
The lawsuit is asking for over $25,000 in damages.
Whitehall is a suburb of Columbus.