Ohio Turnpike Shooting

Written by Administrator

Sunday, 07 January 2001

Ohio State Patrol officers shot and killed a man on the Ohio Turnpike in Portage County on December 30th, 2000. The man was originally thought to be drunk or high and as This Cleveland Plain Dealer Story clarifies the original call for help came from a terrified motorist with children. Although initial news reports suggested the traffic stop was initiated due to possible drunk driving we now know the suspect acted "overly friendly" at a rest plaza to a mother of four. He then began to follow her and try to run her off the road. She managed to get to a toll both asking for help, which resulted in two cars from the Ohio State Patrol being dispatched. While being handcuffed the suspect managed to escape from the grasp of one patrolman and run across the highway. One witness who stopped to avoid hitting the suspect said "He was about half in [the car]. I was just screaming. I thought maybe he was going to kill us. And that’s when I heard the shots." He was eventually shot seven times after supposedly trying to car jack four different vehicles to escape. Sgt. Gary Lewis, a spokesman for the highway patrol said "This is a very, very tragic situation, but it could have been worse. Four innocent groups [of civilians] feared for their lives Editor's Note: I have no doubt the patrolmen in this incident will be cleared of all wrong doing after reading the article and hearing about the suspect's past. But the main questions and the reason for posting this article here are: If four innocent groups of civilians feared for their lives why does the Ohio State Patrol refuse to allow lawful citizens the right to defend themself with firearms? Why must lawful Ohioans transfer firearms on the Ohio Turnpike unloaded? If the Ohio State Patrol didn't respond quickly enough what other options would the mother of four really have had?