Ex-officer pleads not guilty to false shooting claim charges

NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio (AP) — A former Ohio police officer has pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to cover up a suicide attempt by falsely claiming he’d been shot during a traffic stop.

Thirty-seven-year-old Bryan Eubanks pleaded not guilty Monday in Tuscarawas County to charges of inducing panic, making false alarms, forgery and workers’ compensation fraud. His attorney couldn’t be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.

Authorities have said the former Newcomerstown police officer claimed that individuals in a car shot him in the arm during a traffic stop in April. A man was taken into custody and released several hours later. A statewide alert for the purported suspects was issued that day.

Eubanks was fired after telling investigators he had shot himself.

Newcomerstown is about 100 miles south of Cleveland.