Family says man shot by police was helping clean out late grandmother’s home

WYOMING, Ohio (WXIX) - The family of 28-year-old Joe Frasure lit candles in his memory Monday night less than a day after police shot him in Wyoming.

Glass shards glittered in the candlelight at the scene of the shooting, reminders of the incident the family says robbed them of a beloved father of two whose third child could be born in a matter of hours.

“A little girl, and a little boy, and a little baby that’s going to be born tomorrow... probably in the same hospital he passed at,” Arthur Tucker, Frasure’s uncle, said

Wyoming police say they responded to an apartment on Durrell Avenue Monday around 12:40 a.m. for a reported burglary. Officers say they found two suspects in the back of the property and issued “repeated” but unspecified commands, according to a department statement.

Police say the two men allegedly ignored the commands before one of them, believed to be Frasure, got into a car and tried to drive away “in a hurry.” Authorities say the officers told the man to stop and that he ignored that command as well.

The department statement reads: “The fleeing suspect then accelerated the vehicle toward the officers, after which the officers defended themselves by discharging their service weapons in an attempt to stop the approaching vehicle.”

Tucker says his nephew was shot three or four times in the head by Wyoming police officers.

“You don’t shoot somebody in the head three times in the back of the head... That’s a coward’s way,” Tucker said at the vigil.

Rescue crews took Frasure to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he is in critical condition. Frasure is brain-dead but remains on life support pending the execution of certain legal documents, Tucker said.

Hours later, the family stood at the vigil saying “enough is enough” and “justice for Joe.”

They say Frasure was no burglary suspect but was with his sister helping clear out the apartment where his late grandmother lived until her death three weeks ago.

“He was going through a tough time over her passing and he was there to help his little sister clean out the place and someone made a bogus call about a burglary,” Tucker said earlier Monday.

“He was doing nothing wrong,” Tucker added at the vigil. “He was allowed to be here. This was his grandmother’s house.”

Lisa Fischer, Frasure’s mother, says officers should have shot at the van’s tires instead. “They didn’t have to shoot him in the head.”

Tucker remembered his nephew: “He was always funny... I can hear his voice now in my head... He’s laughing.”

Frasure’s brother, also named Joe, said his brother was somebody who always put everyone else first. “He’s a great person. I just wish he were here to share his story... but he’s not.”

Wyoming police have been equipped with body cameras since early 2021. Joe says he wants to see the body camera footage.

“You know, these cops are going to be able to go home and talk to their wives, their children, their brothers... What about me? We get nothing,” he said.

Wyoming police are cooperating with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office in the investigation and review.

Prosecutor Missy Powers will decide if any charges will be filed against the officers who fired their weapons.

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