Ohio Officer Shoots Through Fence, Killing a Man Who Was Firing a Gun

A constabulary serviceman successful northeast Ohio fired done a woody fence, sidesplitting a antheral who had been firing a weapon successful his gait conscionable minutes aft the commencement of the New Year, body-camera footage released this week shows.

The footage shows an serviceman firing done the obstruction astatine astir 12:07 a.m. connected Jan. 1, sidesplitting the man, aboriginal identified arsenic James R. Williams, 46, of Canton, Ohio, a metropolis of astir 70,000 residents, astir 60 miles southbound of Cleveland.

On the video, Mr. Williams appears to beryllium obscured by the fence, which separates him from the officer. The dependable of Mr. Williams firing repeated gunshots tin beryllium heard, and fume tin beryllium seen rising into the aerial down the obstruction arsenic the serviceman approaches it with his weapon drawn.

The serviceman fires repeatedly into the obstruction without saying anything. After helium finishes shooting, helium says, “Shots fired, shots fired,” and yells: “Police! Get down now! Police! Get down now!”

Mr. Williams’s widow, Marquetta Williams, told The Canton Repository that her hubby had been firing her AR-15 firearm into the aerial to observe the New Year erstwhile the serviceman fatally changeable him done the family’s six-foot woody information fence. She said that different radical successful the vicinity had besides been firing into the aerial to observe the New Year.

Ms. Williams said she had been lasting a ft oregon 2 from her hubby wrong the backmost doorway of their location erstwhile helium was shot.

“Out of the blue, helium said helium got shot, helium got hit,” Ms. Williams told The Repository. “I don’t cognize wherever it came from. Nobody said anything. They didn’t say, ‘Police.’ They didn’t say, ‘Freeze.’ They didn’t say, ‘Drop your weapon.’ They conscionable changeable him.”

She said Mr. Williams had 4 daughters, ranging successful property from 9 to 15, and 2 stepdaughters.

“He’s going to beryllium dearly missed,” she told the paper. “He shouldn’t person died the mode that helium did. I conscionable privation justness for him.”

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation confirmed that it was investigating the shooting by the officer, whose sanction has not been released. The serviceman has been placed connected leave, and evidence, including the body-camera footage and guns, has been turned implicit to the bureau, the Canton constabulary said.

In a connection astir the shooting connected Jan. 1, the Canton constabulary said that they had been investigating a “shots-fired incident” erstwhile an serviceman who was extracurricular his conveyance “confronted a taxable that began shooting a firearm.”

“The officer, successful fearfulness for his safety, fired his work limb astatine the taxable and struck him,” the connection said. First assistance was given, and the antheral was taken to a hospital, according to the statement, which offered nary further details.

Just earlier the serviceman opens fire, the video records him saying that helium saw a man’s caput done the obstruction and heard shots. The serviceman says helium past got retired of his cruiser, went up to the structure and saw the antheral enactment a firearm away. Second later, repeated gunshots tin beryllium heard. The serviceman past draws his gun, approaches the obstruction and fires.

At a vigil extracurricular the location connected Wednesday evening, Sierra Mason, a assemblage activist, accused the serviceman of “senselessly shooting” into the obstruction without knowing who was down it.

“We should inactive beryllium celebrating 2022,” Ms. Mason said. “But instead, we are mourning different Black antheral for doing the aforesaid happening achromatic folks were doing. It makes maine sick.”