Ohio Man Wounded By Police Responding To Domestic Violence Call

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio police officer shot and wounded a man who officials said pointed a gun in the direction of officers during a domestic violence call last week, authorities said.

Toledo police said a woman called 911 shortly before 9 p.m. Thursday to report a dispute between her adult daughter and the daughter's live-in boyfriend. Police said the younger woman alleged that the man had been "very aggressive" and was threatening her.

Officers found him in the garage with a gun and ordered him several times to drop it, but instead, he turned the gun away from himself and toward an officer, police said. An officer fired once, striking the suspect, who dropped the weapon, police said.

Police say the 44-year-old man was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive his injuries and is to face misdemeanor domestic violence and assault charges. His gun was recovered and was found to be unloaded. The officer was placed on paid administrative leave pending the conclusion of the investigation.

Toledo police played body-worn camera footage at a news conference Friday that indicated that one officer ordered the suspect to drop the weapon eight times and his partner issued the same command at least six times, the Toledo Blade reported.

Chief George Kral said the officers "gave the suspect all the opportunity in the world to simply drop it and we simply responded to what that suspect did."

Kral noted the danger to officers of domestic violence calls and also said the surge of violence across the country that began in 2020 is continuing.

"We're seeing a wave of violence through this country that I haven't seen in 30 years of policing," he said.

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