By Joanna Putman
Police1
SHELBY, Ohio — A Shelby police officer shot and killed a suspect after the man stabbed the officer in the neck during an arrest attempt, WKYC reported.
The incident occurred on Dec. 7 at an Arby’s restaurant. Sergeant Noah Kocher and another officer, Dominic Ewing, were attempting to serve a warrant issued by the Shelby Municipal Court, according to the report.
Video shows upon being informed of the warrant, the man approached Kocher while speaking with apparent calmness, stating he didn’t know why he had a warrant.
“How’s it going man?” Kocher says.
“Pretty good,” the suspect responds.
“Do you know why I’m here?”
“No.”
“I’ve got a warrant for your arrest.”
“For what?”
“For failure to appear to court…” the officer begins to explain before he is stopped by the suspect raising his arm in the air.
Video shows the suspect then suddenly attacked Kocher with a knife, stabbing him in the neck. After separating himself from the suspect, Kocher fired his weapon when the suspect charged at him again with the knife in hand.
The man was struck and incapacitated. Officer Ewing, who was stationed at the restaurant’s back door, immediately entered to assist Kocher and administered critical aid to both Kocher and the suspect, according to the report.
Kocher was treated at a hospital and has since been released. He is on administrative leave while the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations conducts an investigation into the incident.
The suspect was transported to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to the report.
The Shelby Police Department expressed gratitude for the assistance of several other law enforcement agencies and first responders, including the Shelby Fire Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol and police departments from Lexington, Mansfield, Ontario and Plymouth.