Police shoot and kill motorist in chase
BLUE ASH, Ohio (AP) — A motorist who led police on a chase at speeds of up to 100 mph was shot and killed by officers as he tried to drive over them early Tuesday, authorities said.
“The vehicle was being used as a weapon,” said police Capt. James Schaffer.
He said the chase began when police tried to stop a car being driven erratically near a high school in this Cincinnati suburb.
The car, a Chevrolet Monte Carlo that was reported stolen, collided with a police cruiser. When two officers approached on foot, the car accelerated toward the officers, and the officers began shooting, Schaffer said. The vehicle then hit another cruiser, he said.
A third officer was struck and wound up on the car’s hood, Schaffer said. That officer also fired, and the Monte Carlo stopped.
The driver, Charles Wayne Bennett, 37, of Blue Ash, was pronounced dead at a hospital.
One officer was treated at the hospital, and a second was treated at the scene, police said. Two police cruisers were heavily damaged, police said.
The three officers who fired shots were put on paid administrative leave, under department policy. Schaffer didn’t release their names, but said they are veteran officers.