Police officer shot in head, suspect killed in Warren County

WARREN COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - A Clearcreek Township police officer was shot in the head Tuesday night, according to Clearcreek Township Chief of Police John Terrill.

Two officers with the department responded to a domestic violence call at a residence in the 5000 block of OH-48 where a man was ramming his wife’s car with an ATV, Terrill said.

At some point, the man shot one of the responding officers in the head, after which the other officer shot and killed the man, according to Terrill.

CareFlight transported the wounded officer to Miami Valley Hospital. Sources say he was breathing on his own in the helicopter.

Terrill described the officer as being in “stable but critical condition in the ICU.” Later, in reference to the officer, he added, “We’re not quite sure how this is going to turn out yet.”

Terrill declined to identify the wounded officer but divulged he is a 14-year veteran of the force.

The officer who shot and killed the man was not injured.

The department has responded to multiple domestic violence calls at the same address in the past, according to the police chief.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations is at the scene assisting.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell says BCI is handling evidence-collection and will be conducting all interviews as part of the investigation. Fornshell will assist BCI with search warrants, legal issues, victim services and to observe the scene. BCI’s findings will ultimately be turned over to Fornshell’s office for review.

“An officer-involve lethal use of force incident, when it results in a death, is a tragedy—regardless of whether the officer’s actions ultimately end up being determined to be justified,” Fornshell said.

“Today is just a very clear reminder of how dangerous the job has become. We used to go several years between these types of incidents. Now they’re happening hours apart.”

It is the first officer-involved shooting in the 47-year history of the Clearcreek Township Police Department, Terrill said.

The police chief acknowledged it’s been a difficult few years for the department after losing two officers in a seven-month span.

Sgt. Larry Cornett died unexpectedly at his home in June 2018. Officer Jerrid Lee was killed in a head-on crash while off-duty in January 2019.

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