Letter to the Editor: Shoot at Police and pay $230?

By Concerned Citizen
5 years Ago

I hope you will review the information presented and accept this letter.

This incident took place on 06 November 2019, however, it did not get through the court system until 11 February 2020. That is why I’m writing to you. Also, please accept the supporting information that I’ve attached.

The summary: Scioto County Sheriff’s Deputy (car 67) was dispatched to an alarm call. Upon his arrival, he found that the female there was very hostile and seemed intoxicated. As you can hear on the tape I’ve submitted, the officer asked for assistance and was denied.

During a telephone call with what seemed to be a Supervisor (unit 06) the female shot a weapon. In the recording, you can hear car 67 report that shots were fired and this person (unit 06) told him to leave. I don’t know about you, but I hear some shock in the tone of the dispatcher’s voice when car 67 makes this report.

The dispatcher then agreed to waive him off the call and sent him to check out an alarm at Ponderosa.

Here are the issues with this incident I’d like to point out.

Why was the Deputy denied back up? There are countless times that either another deputy is dispatched or a separate agency is notified even over a traffic stop. How can a Deputy that plainly asks for backup, then says “I’ve never seen this before” and then says “Shots fired” be left in such imminent danger?
Why was the Deputy instructed by his supervisor to run from an attacker? This sets a dangerous precedent. If you’re too scary, the cops will just leave. Where else is that happening? Nowhere, to be sure.
Why did it take 9 days to issue an arrest warrant? If you look at the court documents I’ve submitted, you will see the incident date of 06 November. The warrant date was 15 November.
Why was she not arrested immediately after the warrant was issued? In fact, she wasn’t arrested at all. The court documents show she appeared in court on her own on 09 December and the warrants were canceled. That means they were never served. How can a person who shoots at police not be immediately taken into custody? She just waltzes in on her own nearly a month later!
Did this Deputy file a formal complaint with his FOP rep about being shot at with no assistance given? Further, in the tape, he says “I’m not prepared to break the door down just yet”. With a warrant in hand, there should have been the entire SWAT team breaking down her door for shooting at an officer.
How in God’s name do all the charges, save 1, get dismissed? I understand horse wrangling in the legal system. But, how can you shoot at police-not be arrested-walk into court a month later- and get all but one single misdemeanor dropped?
The Court costs were MORE than the fine. She was fined $100, the court charged $120, and a magical $10 appeared to make a total of $230.

Please review the documents I’ve included and the audiotape I’ve attached. With good conscience, sir, I don’t know how you could not publish my letter.

There needs to be answers. The public needs to know that you can’t “scare” cops away. God help us if our Judges allow our police to be shot at and the court costs are more than the actual fine.