Massillon Police Officer J.J. DiLoreto (R) comforts
fellow officer Kervin Brown during a police memorial
service early Saturday morning as they carry flowers to
the sight where Officer Eric Taylor was killed
Friday night. Copley News Service
Posted on 08/10/2002 9:09:48 PM PDT by ResistorSister
MASSILLON – The chase which ended Friday evening with the deaths of a Massillon police officer and a 61-year-old Jackson Township man began over a speeding ticket.
The Ohio Highway Patrol, in a press conference Saturday morning, said Donald W. Matthews, of 6688 Casper Ave. N.W., off Portage St. near Lake O’Springs Ave., killed Massillon patrolman Eric Taylor, 31, in a shootout following the pursuit.
Sgt. Jim Mizeres, who heads the Massillon detective bureau, said Massillon Ptl. Tom Solinger also was wounded in the gun battle. He was hit with a fragment of a bullet and received treatment for the injury.
Matthews was armed with a Czechoslovakian CZ-762x25 semi-automatic military handgun, said Major James Walker, in charge of field operations for the patrol.
A trooper first stopped Matthews for going 72 mph in a 60 mph zone, reports indicated.
Trooper Joseph Hershey, 25, of the Wooster post, stopped Matthews’ 1992 Ford Taurus at 8:28 p.m. on Rt. 21 near Edwards St. in Doylestown, just north of Clinton.
According to Walker, Hershey asked Matthews for his license, but Matthews only rolled his window down a crack and wouldn’t give Walker his license.
“He said something about his 13th Amendment rights and drove off,” Walker explained.
Lt. Gary D. Lewis Jr., who handles public affairs for the patrol, said investigators are attempting to determine if Matthews was tied to a militia group.
Patriot groups and strict Constitutionalists claim the “missing” 13th Amendment prohibits lawyers from serving in government.
Walker and Lewis both said Matthews had a clean driving record and no criminal record they could find.
“He had a valid license and no warrant,” Walker noted.
The only local court records on Matthews were two tax cases involving the state of Ohio in the Stark County Common Pleas Court, one from 1992 and another from 1993.
Also in April 1993, his wife, Catherine, filed for a divorce, but the case was dismissed in 1994.
Authorities don’t know if Matthews’ background was related to Friday’s shootings.
“We don’t yet know the reason for the incident,” Walker said. “We may never know.”
Matthews was stopped a second time on Rt. 21, but took off again southbound before Hershey, who has been a trooper since March 2001, could take any action, Walker noted.
Five Massillon police officers in four cruisers joined the pursuit near Cherry Rd., he said.
Mizeres and Walker said an investigation still is being conducted and they can’t disclose all the details but it is believed it was at that point that Matthews pulled into the gravel lot just behind The Arena construction trailers at Cherry Rd. and 1st St.
Hershey saw Matthews reach down and swing around with a handgun.
“The trooper retreated,” Walker said, “and Matthews spun off.”
Matthews bailed out of his car and began firing, reports indicated. The car, which had been left in drive, continued into the ditch at the edge of the old Agathon field.
Mizeres said three Massillon officers will be placed on administrative leave, standard procedure following a shooting.
In all, three or four Massillon officers fired shots in addition to Trooper Hershey, who was not injured.
Stark County Coroner James Pritchard said Taylor, who was wearing a protective vest as is required by the Massillon Police Department, was struck in the buttocks by a bullet that traveled up through his body, damaging vital organs.
Lewis said Hershey will be placed on administrative leave, also standard procedure. Neither the patrol cruiser nor the Massillon cruiser were equipped with a camera.
Find first story thread HERE.
Horrible.
Which way was Officer Taylor facing at the time? Or is it alleged that Matthews shot him in the back? In which case, why did the officer have his back turned against the source of the alleged threat?
Just wondering....
More stories will be published tomorrow...hopefully they will be able to answer your questions.
The officer in the buttock.
Huh?
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