NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio — The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating a police shooting involving a Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office deputy and a turbulent series of events that left a man dead Sunday night.
According to the sheriff's office, deputies responded to 8th Street Northeast and Fair Avenue in New Philadelphia after someone called 911 regarding a car that crashed into a house.
Neighbors told News 5 they heard squealing tires and a loud boom when the pickup truck barreled into the home.
“I scanned around and seen the truck parked in the neighbor’s house, ran down the steps, come outside and the suspect was trying to back out of the house," said Kirk Norris, who lives down the street.
He said when it became apparent the truck was stuck, the suspect got out and ran. Norris' nephew and others chased him between houses and into an alley.
Meanwhile, Norris said he rushed into the house to make sure no one was injured. A Tuscarawas County Sheriff's deputy was arriving when the neighbor inside the home said he was uninjured.
Upon arriving, a deputy located a man walking nearby. When the deputy got out of the cruiser to speak with the man, the man jumped inside the police vehicle's passenger door, authorities said.
“The suspect came running out of the alley, jumped into the passenger side of the sheriff’s car," Norris recalled. "There was a struggle to get him out of the car. The deputy fired 3 shots and then the car sped off.”
The sheriff's office confirms shots were fired, and the deputy was hurt in the hand and leg. It's unclear from the information provided how exactly the deputy was injured during the struggle, but Norris said he and others rushed to help.
“I offered my shirt for his wound because he said he shot himself in the finger and he was bleeding,” he said.
Investigators said the suspect sped off in the cruiser only to crash into a parked car near Tell Street and East High Avenue.
Neighbors there said the noise startled them.
"It was a loud [crash]. It shook the whole house. So I knew something had to have happened,” said Tina Smith.
Smith pointed out her neighbor's damaged front porch where she said the parked car flipped after impact. She said the cruiser bounced off the car, nearly crashing into the house across the street.
The man was extricated from the cruiser and taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died. The sheriff's office said it's unclear if the man died from a gunshot wound or injuries sustained in either of the crashes.
"This was an extremely confusing scene that encompassed three crime scenes," Sheriff Orvis Campbell said, referring to the initial scene where a car crashed into a house, the second scene where the shooting occurred and the third being where the cruiser crashed into the vehicle. "Details are sketchy at this time."
Neighbors said they're grateful others in the neighborhood were safe.
“We’re pretty fortunate," said Smith. "We’re glad no one else got hurt.”
Norris added, “I’m glad there was no family sitting in their living room watching TV with kids or anything… it could’ve been worse.”
Sheriff Campbell asked Ohio BCI to investigate the matter because it involved a sheriff's deputy. Members of the New Philadelphia Police Department and the Tuscarawas County Coroner's Office also contributed to the initial investigation.
The sheriff said he will release more information as it becomes available.
