Posted on 03/28/2002 5:02:57 AM PST by Cap'n Crunch
Perrysville, Oh.
A sheriff said yesterday that the police chief in this village accidentally fired a shot through his cruiser's windshield, tried staging a traffic stop to cover up what happened, then accidentally shot himself in the leg.
Police Chief Tim Sommer said he shot himself while reloading his gun, Ashland County Sheriff Wayne Risner said.
Sommer had claimed he was shot by a man he pulled over for driving without license plates.
Sommer, 52, could not be reached for comment yesterday. A message was left at the police station in this town about 60 miles northeast of Columbus. A home telephone listing for the chief could not be found.
Risner said his investigators found inconsistencies in Sommer's story that he was shot March 19 while struggling with a man he pulled over on a country road. The Chief also said the suspect fired a shot into the windshield of his police cruiser.
"When some things don't make sense, you have to question it," Risner said. "When we tried to match up the facts, they don't make sense."
Sheriff's officers determined that after Sommer accidentally fired a 9mm rifle in the police garage, damaging his windshield, he drove out to a county road and staged a traffic stop.
Sommer made tire marks in the grass along the road and, while on the radio to report the traffic stop, fired his handgun at the ground to make it appear there was trouble, Risner said.
The police chief then accidentally hit the magazine button on his gun, which caused the ammunition to drop from the loaded weapon. When he reloaded the weapon, it went off and a bullet struck Sommer in the leg, the sheriff said.
Sommer threw a drug pipe and the casing from the accidental shooting out the window to make it look like someone else was there, Risner said.
The sheriff said he was upset because 43 officers from various agencies responded when Sommer said he was shot, and hundreds of man hours were wasted looking for a suspect and a vehicle that did not exist.
No charges have been filed, but prosecutor Robert DeSanto is reviewing the case.
"It's amazing the foolishness of it," DeSanto told the Ashland Times-Gazette.
Mayor Renee Mott said she would not comment on whether Sommer was still the village's police chief. He has held that job since Dec. 1, 1999.
Risner said that if Sommer had come forward when he damaged the cruiser, he probably would have faced minor discipline.
"He might have got his hind end chewed a little bit, but that would have been the end of it," Risner said.
"It might lead to shoot-outs with innocent citizens on the short end of the stick." (Or police chiefs, or 'fictional' citizens, eh Chief?)
"What about Mr. Citizen who gets cut off and instead of yelling at the guy he goes into a road rage with his weapon."
In this story the bumbling police chief commited a couple of felonies, I hope they charge him.
I heard the Chief's radio call out on the local news, after he had been 'shot.' He should have got an Oscar for that performance.
At least he blamed it (the suspect) on a white guy. LOL
But I understand it is going to pass! Hurray!
You would hope. Sommer threw a drug pipe... I hope they tested him, he might be a crack head, he's certainly a crack pot.
My question is, "Why does the Gov. consult a cop-shop union about my constitutional rights? Can he not take a look at the other states with CCW laws ( I believe there are about 30 states that permit CCW)? I voted against that moron Taft. However, the next Gov. election will be Taft for repubs, and Hagan for the Dems (he's married to capt. Janeway, you know...). Each of these numnuts have stated that they will consult the cop union about whether to pass or veto CCW.
MY PROBLEM IS THIS...Over the years I have seen all kind of damning actions by the police. Just a week or two ago, an off duty cop's pistol went off accidentally and went through his neighbors house. Absolutely no charges against him.
Over 40 Cleveland cops under investigation by the FBI at one time.
Cincy police kill an un-armed boy...No Charges
A year or two ago, a Philadelphia cop was here for a police funeral (which was a very tragic background). Later at night, this off-duty cop from PA is at the Flats...is drunk at a bar, and decides to unload his clip into the river! NO CHARGES AGAINST HIM even though he possessed a firearm in a bar, and emptied his clip in the midst of a very crowded section of town.
I could go on and on and on. Yet our wise Governor (whom I voted against) will consult with the cops before signing CCW.
Gov. Taft...you are a big disappointment for Ohio, and I can only hope (and vote) that you will not serve another term. Talk about a lame duck...
The problem with the FOP (one of the problems) they have these liberals who are the spokesmen and are in the top positions. The only reason I haven't quit the FOP is the coverage they provide if I get sued. I've been thinking about the OPBA.
I heard that if Taft vetoes there will be enough votes to overturn. I hope that's true.
In 1993 'only 2 percent of civilian shootings involved an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal. The 'error rate' for the police, however, was 11 percent, more than five times as high.
Newsweek, November 15, 1993
Citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as police do every year (1,527 to 606).
Kleck, Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, (1991):111-116, 148.
Courtesy of gunfacts.org
Why did he have a pipe? I've heard of "drop" everything, drop gun, drop knife, drop crack...
I guess the Chief wanted to make it look really good LOL. Tampering with evidence is a felony. So is filing a false police report.
"In case of accidentally shooting yourself, make sure you have your drop crack pipe to throw the investigators off the trail"
In the words of that great American, Bugs Bunny...."What a maroon"!
Maybe that will be his out, he'll tell the investigators that he's an addict and try to go for treatment instead of incarceration.
I'll keep my ear open to see what happens.
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