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Toledo, Ohio, police officer dies after armed standoff

Dreamstime via TNS

Toledo, Ohio, police officer dies after armed standoff

A Toledo, Ohio, police officer was shot and killed Monday in an armed standoff with a man suspected of setting fire to Rosary Cathedral.

The officer, Brandon Stalker, 24, died from a single gunshot wound following the encounter near the Old West End, Toledo police Chief George Kral said at a news conference.

Toledo police officers returned fire, but the condition of the suspect, who was hospitalized, is unknown.

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“Very sad day for the city of Toledo and specifically the Toledo Police Department,” Chief Kral said, later adding that Officer Stalker was, “an amazing police officer.”

The incident started when officers approached the suspect in the 2200 block of Fulton Street at around 3:53 p.m. Monday, recognizing the individual as the person who was wanted for vandalizing and setting fire to the Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral earlier in the day, Chief Kral said. After the officers approached the suspect, he brandished a firearm before going into the Fulton Street home.

Officers did not identify the suspect, but Toledo Municipal Court documents show a pending vandalism charge for Christopher Harris, 27, with an address in the 2200 block of Fulton Street. The warrant document states he “spray painted in large letters ‘Jesus is Black’ and ‘Black’ numerous times on the brick wall and the brick structure of the Rosary Cathedral... causing significant damage.”

Another warrant, this one for a pending arson charge, states he poured a flammable liquid “onto the large wooden front doors of the Rosary Cathedral, then lit it ablaze.”

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After the suspect went into the Fulton Street home, officers set up a perimeter and brought in negotiators and members of the SWAT team, which the chief said is normal procedure when there is a barricaded suspect.

“Negotiators were there and tried to negotiate for hours. It was not successful,” Chief Kral said.

After officers used tear gas in an attempt to end the standoff, the suspect came out of the house with two firearms and starting shooting at the officers on scene, Chief Kral said. Officer Stalker was hit with one bullet and died.

“Officer Stalker was not on the SWAT team. He was not a tactical officer,” the chief said. “He was doing perimeter security when he was struck.”

Officer Stalker was engaged and had a young child with his fiancee, the chief said.

“It is a very difficult day for the city,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. “The events that took place today challenge all of us in how best we should respond to the sadness that we feel in our hearts.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered all U.S. and Ohio flags be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Lucas County and at the Ohio Statehouse, the Vern Riffe Center, and Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus to honor Officer Stalker. Flags will remain lowered until sunset on the day of his funeral.

Multiple officers were at the scene of the standoff with guns drawn and riot gear worn. Both the officer and the suspect were taken to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center after the incident.

A heavy police presence was seen outside St. Vincent Medical Center and at the scene of the standoff late Monday night. On the corner of Columbia and Putnam streets, tensions were high as dozens of residents gathered around the blocked off perimeter to find out what had occurred.

According to a video posted on Facebook, two people in the neighborhood with an upstairs view of the suspect’s front door were hoping the standoff would end peacefully and were stunned when it didn’t.

“All you got to do is come out, man,” one of the men said, pleading from a distance and speculating that the suspect was scared.

Then, seconds later, shots were heard.

Toledo Fire and Rescue Department crews responded to the early-morning vandalism at the cathedral shortly before 2:30 a.m. Monday after a neighbor called to report the incident.

Investigators determined that the entry doors to the church at 2561 Collingwood Blvd. had been damaged by an intentionally set flash fire that had extinguished itself prior to firefighters’ arrival, the department reported. Firefighters checked the rest of the church to make sure there was no additional fire inside of the nearly 90-year-old church. The incident was contained to the front, exterior door area and the initial estimate of the damage done was about $5,000, firefighters said.

Chief Kral said officers noticed the vandalism suspect just before 4 p.m. outside having a cigarette and approached him, as they had warrants out for his arrest. Soon after he brandished a gun and went inside the home, police said.

Officer Stalker is the third Toledo police officer to die in the line of duty over the last 14 years.

On Feb. 21, 2007, Detective Keith Dressel, 35, was shot and killed by a teenager while breaking up what appeared to be a 2 a.m. drug deal along Ontario Street in North Toledo.

The shooter, Robert Jobe, who was 15 years old at the time, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 18 years served. His first parole board hearing is scheduled for December, 2024.

Detective Dressel had worked in TPD’s vice/narcotics section for 14 years.

The most recent incident occurred this past July 4, when Toledo Police Officer Anthony Dia, 26, was killed about 12:11 a.m. in a Home Depot parking lot along Alexis Road near Lewis Avenue during a seemingly routine incident while trying to assist a man who seemed confused and intoxicated.

Witnesses told police that Edward Henry, 57, was walking away from Officer Dia, then turned and fired one round from a handgun at Officer Dia. The police officer was wearing his department-issued body armor, but he was struck once in a vulnerable area, Chief Kral said following that shooting.

Henry retreated to a nearby wooded area, where he killed himself.

Officer Stalker and Officer Dia graduated from the same police class and both joined the department in 2018.

The Block News Alliance consists of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Blade of Toledo, Ohio, and television station WDRB in Louisville, Ky. Brooks Sutherland and Sarah Elms are reporters for The Blade.

First Published: January 19, 2021, 6:11 a.m.

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