Sharon Woods Shooting Involved Westerville Officers
Westerville police quickly joined the search for a vehicle linked to an armed sexual assault Saturday, a response that led officers from neighboring Genoa Township and Westerville into Sharon Woods Metro Park and ended with a Westerville officer using a Taser in an attempt to subdue the armed suspect moments before a Genoa Township officer shot him.
Three Westerville officers were among the four officers who approached the suspect at the end of an approximately 45-minute standoff, Westerville Police Chief Holly Murchland said.
“Some of those officers that arrived early on were Westerville officers, but they’re members of our Delaware tactical team and negotiators,” Murchland said.
The response eventually included officers from multiple jurisdictions, tactical equipment, fire and medical personnel, and a Columbus police helicopter as authorities worked to contain the armed man, clear park visitors from the area and restrict access to the scene.
The incident began shortly after 1 p.m. Aug. 15 when a woman called Delaware County dispatch and reported she had been sexually assaulted and that her attacker had used a gun, according to Genoa Township Police Chief James McMillin.
The woman identified the suspect and his vehicle. A Genoa Township officer spotted a vehicle matching the description and followed it south on Cleveland Avenue while waiting for additional officers and confirming information about the driver.
Westerville Police Dispatch and Office Radio Traffic
This audio has been edited to remove unrelated responses and empty air time.
Westerville police records show how quickly the department became involved. A bulletin for the suspect was entered at 1:04 p.m. By 1:05 p.m., officers were receiving updates that the vehicle was traveling south on Cleveland Avenue, and dispatch later advised that the suspect was suicidal.
At 1:08 p.m., Westerville records show pursuit was authorized. Almost immediately, officers reported the vehicle turning into Sharon Woods.
The suspect drove into the first parking area, stopped, and got out with a handgun pointed at his head, according to police radio traffic and Genoa Township’s account of the incident.
Police radio traffic shows officers repeatedly trying to manage both the armed suspect and people still moving through the park. At one point, officers asked park personnel to stop traffic because vehicles were passing near the scene. Later, an officer warned that cars were still crossing a potential line of fire.
Murchland said securing a scene such as Sharon Woods requires officers well beyond those directly confronting the suspect.
“You have officers on the perimeter,” she said. “We have to make sure that, to keep people coming in and out of the park and secure the perimeter and things like that. And it takes a lot of people.”
She said the size of a perimeter also reflects the danger posed by gunfire.
“If you do have any type of shooting, those rounds can go a long way,” Murchland said. “They travel. So that’s another reason why we want to make sure the perimeter is large enough.”
During the standoff, the suspect repeatedly put the handgun down and picked it back up, according to Genoa Township and Westerville records. At 1:15 p.m., Westerville dispatch recorded that the gun was on the ground. A little more than three minutes later, officers reported that it was back in his hands.
McMillin said officers spent about 45 minutes trying to persuade the suspect to move away from the gun and surrender peacefully. The suspect at times paced and made erratic movements, and at one point checked the gun’s chamber, according to Genoa Township.
Shortly before 2 p.m., the suspect again put the gun down and officers began moving toward him.
McMillin said the suspect then bent over and grabbed the handgun. A Westerville officer fired a Taser in an attempt to stop him, but the Taser was ineffective.
As the suspect continued to pick up the weapon, a Genoa Township officer fired one shot, according to McMillin. The suspect remained standing, raised his own handgun to the side of his head and fired.
Police and medics rendered aid, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Westerville’s dispatch record notes the Taser deployment at about 1:58 p.m. and, within about a minute, a request for medics to move into the scene. By 2 p.m., a Westerville medic unit was going into the park. BCI was recorded on scene at 3:26 p.m.
Genoa Township continues to investigate the sexual assault that prompted the search for the suspect. McMillin said investigators found evidence that a rape occurred and that the suspect, who knew the victim, likely planned the assault in advance.
McMillin also credited officers from Westerville and other neighboring agencies who responded to Sharon Woods.
“I’m proud of my officers and those from nearby jurisdictions who responded,” McMillin said. “They spent 45 minutes trying to save the life of a man they believed had just committed a violent crime.”
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