Ohio sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a distraught man threatening suicide, placing a gun to his head, telling deputies they would “have to shoot him.”
They ended up doing just that.
The
Wayne County Sheriff
The man has been identified Rodney Geiser. He was 60.
Wayne County Sheriff
received a call requesting assistance from the Apple Creek Police Department who were already on scene dealing with an armed suicidal man.
The man, whose name has yet to be released pending family notification, but identified to be 60-years-old, was behind a downtown business and threatening to harm himself.
Before Wayne County Sheriff’s Department arrived around 10:50 a.m., both Apple Creek Police Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers were on scene attempting to deescalate the man for 34 minutes.
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This morning, The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office received a call requesting assistance from the Apple Creek Police Department who were already on scene dealing with an armed suicidal man.
The man, whose name has yet to be released pending family notification, but identified to be 60-years-old, was behind a downtown business and threatening to harm himself.
Before Wayne County Sheriff’s Department arrived around 10:50 a.m., both Apple Creek Police Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers were on scene attempting to deescalate the man for 34 minutes.
During the interaction the man told officers that they would “have to shoot him” while holding the gun to his head, according to Cleveland.
The man proceeded to walk towards officers while still holding his weapon and ignoring officers multiple requests to drop it.
He was able to get within 40 feet, when one of the sheriff deputies decided to fire one round at him, which struck him, ending the confrontation.
He was pronounced dead at Wooster Community Hospital after being rushed there.
Wayne County Sheriff Travis Hutchinson took to Facebook releasing a statement:
“My deputies respond to suicidal individuals almost daily and have a long history of getting these people the medical help they need without arrest. In this case, the deputies did all they could to obtain help for this man. Sadly this the man not only refused this help but placed the responding law enforcement officers and members of the public in danger while making threats towards their safety.”
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting and as per protocol the deputy has been placed on leave.
The officer on leave is in the same department that is under investigation for an altercation at Wayne County Schools Career Center last month involving a 17-year-old.
