One police officer in Ohio went above and beyond the call of duty this past Saturday night.
Following an incident that began at an IHOP, dashcam footage shows two Springfield Township police cruisers following a semi. The officers followed the truck to a Walmart where one cruiser pulled up in front of the semi and another alongside of it.
A police officer from each cruiser then approached the semi and ordered the driver to turn off the truck and put both hands out of the window. Since the driver of the semi would not comply, one of the police officers stepped onto the side of the truck and grabbed the driver’s arm.
“Let go of my arm, man,” the driver is heard telling the officer. “Tell me what is going on first? What did I do?”
“You refused to stop,” one of the officers yelled before drawing a stun gun. “You are going to get tased right now.”
“Drop it!” both officers then shouted.
“It’s a phone,” the man replied.
“I don’t care; drop it!” an officer responded.
When another cop climbed onto the semi, one of them grabbed the driver by his hood and pulled him through the vehicle window. An officer brandishing a stun gun seized the man’s head.
The semi driver refused to cooperate with the police, leading to the chaos
At that point, the driver of the semi began moving the truck forward, with one of the officers still clinging to the door. The other cop jumped, called for help on the radio, and then ran back to his cruiser.
As the semi drove away, the officer clinging to the door eventually fell off. Several patrol cars then began pursuit.
“The suspect initially stopped but refused repeated commands to exit the vehicle,” police said. “As officers attempted to remove the suspect from the semi-truck, he suddenly accelerated.”
Akron Police Lt. Michael Murphy said the semi struck multiple cruisers before driving west, then struck more cruisers and civilian vehicles.
“He’s running over civilian vehicles,” one officer said, according to the Akron Beacon-Journal. Another officer reported that “he hit my cruiser.”
Once the semi driver finally came to a stop, it took 10 minutes of officers demanding the driver exit the vehicle and put his hands up before the situation came to a head with officers firing shots.
Emergency responders took the driver to an undisclosed hospital for what officials reported to be non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the semi now faces a multitude of charges
According to Springfield police, the driver was charged with two misdemeanor counts of aggravated menacing. He also faces felony charges of obstruction, assault on a law enforcement officer, and willful flee and elude. The Akron Police Department and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office could add more charges.
“This incident is a reminder of the dangers that these officers face every day out there in the field,” said Springfield Township Police Chief Jack Simone.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of the law enforcement officers who responded,” Mayor Shammas Malik said in a statement. “My thoughts are with one of our Akron officers who sustained a minor injury at the scene, and with the Springfield officer who was injured in the initial encounter. I am grateful that no officers or members of the public were more seriously harmed.”