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The motorist hit the officer with his car
YOUNGSTOWN
A police officer, hit by a motorist who struck him with his vehicle, fired at least three shots at the driver, hitting him once in the abdomen area, Chief Rod Foley said.
The motorist is recovering from the gunshot wound at St. Elizabeth Health Center and will be charged — at least with felonious assault and resisting arrest — once he is released from the hospital, Foley said. That could be as early as today.
The injury isn’t life-threatening, Foley said.
The officer attempted to stop a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix for a traffic stop in the area of North Richview and Connecticut avenues on the city’s West Side at 11:53 p.m. Sunday.
The motorist didn’t stop as he drove through backyards, Foley said.
The officer then drove his cruiser, blocking the car, and got out of his cruiser to go to the Grand Prix, Foley said. It was then that the motorist struck the officer with his vehicle, Foley said.
The officer then fired at least three rounds from his handgun through the driver’s-side window, hitting the motorist once in the abdomen area, Foley said.
There was a woman in the car but she wasn’t injured, Foley said. Also, she told officers she didn’t see much as she was “ducking,” Foley said. She likely won’t be charged, he said.
The officer is resting at home after being treated at ValleyCare Northside Medical Center, Foley said. The officer is in pain but didn’t suffer any broken bones, Foley said.
The officer is on paid administrative leave until the investigation into the shooting is done, Foley said. Also, the officer would be off duty for a few days because of his injuries, Foley said.
Police are not providing the names of either the suspect, who is being watched by an armed police officer at the hospital, or the officer who shot him.
The suspect’s name will be provided once he is charged.
The name of the officer will not be given until the department’s internal-affairs unit has investigated the matter, Foley said.
The department isn’t required to give the names because the matter is under investigation and is an exception to the state’s open-records law, said Anthony Donofrio, the city’s deputy law director.
Foley said this is the first time this officer has shot someone.