Officer identified; 911 tape indicates he fired 2-3 times
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The Warren police officer who fired the shots that hit Randall Bryant, 45, of Harrison Street Northeast on Wednesday night has been identified as Patrolman Adam Huffman.
A review of the 911 recordings from the 11:32 p.m. incident indicates Huffman fired two to three times as Bryant emerged from the home at 1104 Harrison St. with a shotgun. Police Chief Eric Merkel also confirmed the officer’s identity Friday morning.
An officer at the scene told a police dispatcher later that Huffman fired after Bryant “raised the shotgun” while coming through the door and that Bryant was hit one to two times in the arm, though the officer said he was basing his estimate on what he saw of Bryant’s injuries at the scene.
Huffman indicated he had ordered Bryant twice to drop the weapon before he fired, Merkel said.
Bryant was in critical condition at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital and had surgery Thursday. A spokesman for St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital said Friday morning she had no information on Bryant.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is handling the investigation into the shooting, and Merkel said he didn’t know how many times Bryant was hit by the officer’s gunfire, where he was shot or whether Bryant fired his weapon.
Huffman was the only officer at the Harrison address, waiting for backup when the incident occurred. He was called there because police were advised Bryant was holding his girlfriend at gunpoint. The girlfriend’s mother had called 911 at 11:32 p.m. to report that Bryant had assaulted her but had left.
Ambulance personnel reported to 911 at 11:45 p.m. that Bryant had returned with a gun.
Huffman began his career with the Warren Police Department on Nov. 21, 2012, after serving three years as a corrections officer with the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident that led to Bryant’s being shot was complicated by the fact that police officers already were dealing with another incident involving a gunman at the time they were called to Harrison Street, according to police radio transmissions.
When the 11:32 call about the assault and 11:45 call about Bryant’s returning to Harrison Street came in, police were at 525 Scott Street NE, where they had been summoned at 11:15 p.m. for a similar call – a domestic dispute that involved a gun.
Four officers responded, learning that Brian J. Kaster, 34, of the Scott Street address, was inside with a gun. Police went inside, and a small child walked toward them and came safely outside.
A fifth officer arrived, and they called upstairs to Kaster, who opened a bathroom door, put his hands up, got on the floor and was arrested.
Witnesses said Kaster assaulted his girlfriend and then got his gun and waived it around after another man staying at the house intervened.
Kaster was arraigned Thursday morning in Warren Municipal Court on a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence. He pleaded not guilty, and a bond of $2,500 was set.