A 51-year-old Parma man is facing felony charges after leading Bay Village and Westlake police on a pursuit that ended in an hour-long standoff, during which he allegedly smoked from a glass pipe, kicked at a police dog, and refused to release the steering wheel even after being shocked with a Taser.
The incident began at 10:15 p.m. on September 4 when Bay Village police started following a black Chevrolet Malibu after spotting an equipment violation, according to Cleveland.com. Westlake police overheard the pursuit over radio traffic and joined in as the suspect drove the Malibu southbound into Westlake on Dover Center Road.
A Westlake officer performed a pursuit intervention technique, or PIT maneuver, after the driver passed Bradley Road, according to the same account, causing the car to spin out. Officers from both departments then blocked the vehicle, but the driver refused to get out.
An Hour of Negotiation, Then Force
Westlake police negotiated with the man for roughly an hour as he stayed inside the car. During that time, the driver continued to text, talk on his phone, and smoke cigarettes and material from a glass pipe, per a Westlake press release cited in the report. Westlake Police Captain Gerald Vogel told WHIO TV that officers spent roughly an hour trying non-lethal de-escalation methods, including breaking the rear windows and deploying pepper balls into the passenger compartment, but the driver appeared “unaffected by the irritant.”
Additional officers broke the driver's-side door glass and eventually pulled the man out of the car. Westlake police tased him after he would not release the steering wheel, and he was later taken to a hospital for removal of the Taser barbs and treatment of other minor injuries, the report states.
K-9 Timmy Sent Into the Vehicle
As the standoff wore on, a Westlake police K-9 entered the passenger compartment of the car, and the suspect kicked at the dog, according to the Westlake press release. Westlake police K-9 Timmy works with handler Patrol Officer J.P. Toth, according to a profile from WKYC. No officers or the K-9 were injured during the encounter, per the Cleveland.com report.
Kicking or otherwise harming a police dog is its own crime in Ohio. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2921.321, a mandatory fine applies when a police dog or horse dies, with listed uses including replacement and training costs.
Misdemeanors and Felonies Split Between Departments
Westlake cited the man for misdemeanors including assaulting a police dog, resisting arrest, and obstruction, while also charging him with felonies including failure to comply and tampering with evidence, per the Cleveland.com report. Bay Village, meanwhile, will charge him separately with fleeing and eluding, willful and wanton operation, drug paraphernalia, assured clear distance ahead, and a headlight violation, according to a Bay Village press release cited in the same report.
Fleeing and eluding was among the charges Bay Village planned to bring. Tampering with evidence, another felony charge, is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 36 months, requiring prosecutors to prove he knew an investigation was underway when he allegedly tried to conceal or destroy evidence, according to Patituce & Associates.
Westlake police turned the suspect over to the Bay Village Police Department for processing once the standoff ended, the report notes. The Rocky River Municipal Court serves five western Cuyahoga County suburbs including Bay Village and Westlake, while felony counts will move toward Cuyahoga County grand jury proceedings.
A Familiar Partnership Between Departments
The seamless handoff between the two police departments traces back to a regional mutual aid agreement established in 1971 by the Westshore Council of Governments, which lets neighboring western Cuyahoga County departments pool tactical resources and cross city lines during pursuits and standoffs. Westlake Police operates out of its headquarters.
Both departments also belong to the Westshore Enforcement Bureau, a multi-jurisdictional drug task force established in 1970 that serves six Cuyahoga County municipalities covering more than 192,000 residents and has a drug-enforcement mission. Open questions remain about the suspect's legal representation, his arraignment date, and the final lab analysis of the suspected narcotics recovered from the scene.
