Dashcam video shows Columbus police cruiser crash, shooting

A car chase involving Columbus police and two carjacking suspects Tuesday ended with the police car crashing into a building, one of the suspects being hit and an officer in the passenger seat accidentally firing a shot, according to video released Thursday by Columbus police.

On Tuesday, officers were stopped in the area of Sullivant and Ogden avenues by a person who said he had been kidnapped at gunpoint. The victim provided a description of the suspects and the vehicle, a black Chevrolet Cruze.

Patrol officers located the vehicle near the intersection of East Livingston Avenue and Alum Creek Drive and followed it for about eight minutes to a parking lot on Neil Avenue near Ohio State University, police dashcam footage shows.

As officers pass the garage, the driver accelerates and officers turn on their sirens and begin pursuing him. The driver weaves through traffic and onto Route 315 southbound, the video shows.

Later, several other police cars join the chase, and the driver continues to flee. At one point in the chase, officers in two separate police cars tried to perform a police maneuver to immobilize the car, but were unsuccessful. The stolen car loses one of its tires in the chase, and the driver continues to flee.

The chase ultimately ends dramatically in the 1100 block of Alum Creek Drive on the city’s Southeast Side, with the driver of the Cruze crashing into the Lion’s Den adult supermarket, and he and a female passenger fleeing and attempting to escape on foot.

Seconds later, a Columbus police cruiser hits the fleeing passenger of a stolen vehicle and then crashes into the same building. The impact deploys the front airbags, likely causing the officer in the front passenger seat — whose body camera shows he already had his gun drawn because the suspects were believed to be armed — to accidentally fire once. The bullet passed through the cruiser’s windshield and didn’t hit anyone, according to dash and body cameras.

The suspect, who was in the passenger seat, tries to flee again and only gets a short distance before being apprehended in a U-Haul parking lot. The driver was arrested behind the Lion’s Den video rental store by other officers after a brief foot chase.

The officer whose gun went off and the driver of the police car that hit the building suffered minor injuries and were treated at a local hospital and later released. Medics treated the suspects at the scene.

Columbus police have not released the identities of the two car theft suspects or indicated whether they were involved in a series of armed car thefts this summer.

What is the Columbus Police Department’s pursuit policy?

The Columbus Division of Police directive on vehicle pursuits was last amended on Sept. 20, 2023, according to a document on the department’s website. It requires officers to balance the need to immediately arrest a fleeing suspect with the safety of those nearby.

“Respect for human life should be the basis for all decisions regarding vehicle pursuits,” the directive states.

Police may pursue a vehicle if:

● “The actions of the driver create an imminent threat to human life that is greater than the potential danger of pursuit. Fleeing, in and of itself, does not constitute a threat to human life for purposes of this section. ● “A suspect remaining at large poses a greater risk to the public than the pursuit and there is reasonable suspicion that: (1) The passenger has committed or has a warrant for his arrest for an offense, or the vehicle contains evidence of an offense involving: (a) the attempted, threatened, or actual infliction of serious physical harm to a person; or (b) the threat or use of a deadly weapon.

Under the policy, officers must also consider:

● Is the identity of the suspect known?

● The likelihood that a suspect will be identified and arrested at a later date.

● Actions of the driver or suspects in the vehicle.

● Traffic volume.

●Road and weather conditions.

●A police officer’s ability to drive safely while providing information about the location and direction of travel over the radio.

The supervisor must monitor all activities and make decisions about their continuation or termination.

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@ShahidMeighan

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Dashcam video shows Columbus police cruiser crash, shooting

What is the Columbus Police Department’s pursuit policy?

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What is the Columbus Police Department’s pursuit policy?

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