Massillon Patrol Officer
Eric Taylor
Posted on 08/10/2002 6:07:37 AM PDT by ResistorSister
MASSILLON (OHIO) -- A city police officer and a man he was chasing are dead, killed in a shootout at the old Agathon ballfield Friday night.
Killed were Eric Taylor, 31, a four-year veteran of the Police Department, and a still unidentified suspect.
“This is a major tragedy for our city,” said Mayor Francis Cicchinelli, who announced Taylor’s death at Massillon Community Hospital at about 11:45 p.m.
Taylor was married, with three young children.
Investigators from the Ohio Highway Patrol, Massillon Police Department and Stark County coroner’s office remained at the scene past midnight, as did the body of the suspect, a balding, white man who was driving a four-door Ford sedan with Stark County license plates. His body was covered with one sheet, another blocked the view of the more than 100 bystanders who gathered near First Street and Cherry Road NW.
The trouble began shortly before 8:30 p.m. on Route 21 and Edwards Road in Wayne County near Doylestown, according to Lt. Herb Homan, commander of the Wooster Post of the Highway Patrol.
One of his troopers had stopped the southbound Ford on Route 21 at 8:22 p.m. for speeding. The trooper talked with the driver, there was a confrontation and five minutes later, the trooper reported the car was fleeing. He chased it south, and Massillon police got involved.
The chase ended in Massillon east of Route 21, in the ballfield just south of Cherry Road.
Lt. Gary Lewis of the Highway Patrol said the man got out of his car with a high-powered semiautomatic weapon, and that he fired first at officers. At least three Massillon officers and a trooper were involved in the gunfire. He said they don’t know which officer fired the shot that killed the suspect nor do they know which shot killed Taylor.
Scott McElfresh said he was watching television in his home on Cherry Road, northeast of the scene, when he heard shots. He looked out his window and saw flashes from gunfire.
He estimated he heard four shots and then an additional 30 to 40 shots, and that he saw flashes indicating police were returning fire.
“It’s not something you expect to happen in Massillon,” he said.
Other witnesses said they heard 10 to 12 shots.
“We didn’t know if it was fireworks or gunshots,” said Dave Hodgson, who was with friends about a block to the north.
Stark County Coroner James Pritchard said the suspect died of gunshot wounds, but he won’t know how many until he does an autopsy on the man today. He’ll also do an autopsy on Taylor.
Taylor was rushed from the scene to Massillon Community moments after the shooting.
The suspect’s body remained on the corner of a field off of First Street and Cherry Road until after midnight. Police said they had not verified the man’s identification, and they wouldn’t release his name until family was notified.
Through the early morning, Taylor’s cruiser and the suspect’s car remained in the middle of the field on which The Arena is being built.
The Highway Patrol and Massillon police are sharing the investigation.
They used 44 red cups to mark shell casings and other pieces of evidence on First Street. Bright lights illuminated the scene, showing the back window of a Massillon cruiser was shattered, and glass was scattered across the street.
A helicopter from Columbus was brought in to map the crime scene.
A handful of officers not involved in the investigation showed up at the scene, some in uniform and some in street clothes, somber and stone faced. Family of other officers showed up, patted a couple of officers on the back, shook their hands and hugged them.
A police chaplain met with the family at Massillon Community.
A red tent for officers was pitched in the yard of the Massillon Recreation Center, across the street from the crime scene.
The county coroner?
So did I. But Joe don't know nuthin' else!
More Grace and Mercy,.......In Jesus' Precious Name, Amen!!
...think you're an @sshole?
Betty boop should have posted her comments on this thread. Frankly, a guy who thinks he doesn't have to observe traffic laws is a menace to society. I'm surprised he lived this long.
Why don't you start by thinking yourself? IMO, that was one of the most tasteless posts in the history of FR...
Stay safe; stay armed.
MASSILLON, Ohio -- The man who died in a shootout that also killed a Massillon police officer had no apparent reason to flee a traffic stop, the State Highway Patrol said.
Donald W. Matthews, 61, of Canton, had no criminal record, traffic violations or outstanding warrants before Friday's chase and gunfire, Patrol Maj. James Walker said Saturday.
Massillon Patrolman Eric Taylor, 31, died in the shootout despite wearing a city-required bulletproof vest, Police Chief Mark Weldon said. He would not say where Taylor was wounded. The married father of a 3- and 1-year-old had been on the force four years.
"I remember Eric when I first interviewed him, and he was kind of young," Weldon said, his voice cracking. "I remember telling him to come back in a couple of years. And he did that, and I have never regretted it, until now.
"He was one of the good ones. He cared deeply about the job, about the community, about the people."
Walker, commander of patrol field operations statewide, gave this account of the chase:
Trooper Joseph Hershey first stopped Matthews about 8:30 p.m. Friday on state Route 21 in Wayne County. The trooper had clocked the Ford sedan Matthews was driving at 72 mph in a 60 mph zone, he said. Hershey also was prepared to ticket Matthews for not wearing a seat belt.
Matthews refused to roll down his driver's side window more than an inch and showed the trooper his drivers license through the glass. Then he drove off.
Hershey chased Matthews about 12 miles south into Massillon, pulled him over again. As Hershey approached the car, Matthews said something about his constitutional rights, and the trooper saw him turn and grab a gun. Hershey backed away, and the driver took off again.
Massillon police answered a call for backup and joined the chase, which ended a few minutes later in a construction site parking lot along the highway near a residential neighborhood.
Matthews got out of his car with the handgun and fired first. He was armed with a Czechoslovakian semiautomatic handgun, Walker said, but the patrol has not determined if the imported weapon was licensed, registered or legal.
Taylor was declared dead at 11:45 p.m. at Massillon Community Hospital, Mayor Francis Cicchinelli said.
Matthews died at the scene of gunshot wounds, said the Stark County coroner, Dr. James Pritchard, adding he would not know how many until an autopsy was performed on Saturday.
Cicchinelli said he spoke with Taylor's wife.
"The reaction was, 'Why did this happen?' and who can answer that?" the mayor said. "It's a message to all of us that these kinds of things can happen anywhere."
Two bouquets with silvery helium balloons reading "With love" marked the small gravel parking lot Saturday morning.
Ward and Orpah Moore walked about two blocks from their house to look over the scene. They said their son is a police officer in Nelsonville in southeast Ohio.
"So for us it really hit home," Orpah Moore said. "It's a very sad situation, any time a public defender loses his life. Something is wrong."
The couple often listen to a police scanner at home and heard radio calls as the chase and shootings unfolded. Ward Moore went to the scene and saw officers trying to resuscitate Taylor, whom he knew.
"Knowing him was important to me," said Ward Moore, who like Taylor is black. "There are not that many blacks on the force. ... He was a really good person."
Another neighbor, Stephanie Criss, said he has trouble believing this could happen in the peaceful community about 50 miles south of Cleveland. Massillon is best known for its avid high school football fans and as the hometown of legendary pro coach Paul Brown.
"It is gut-wrenching. It's devastating," she said.
Well said, sinkspur. A few people here are defending the guy ONLY because he's a freeper. The guy killed a cop and a father and sounds to me like he was plum nuts.
Sadly, the human sentiment against murder was not unanimous on the deleted thread. There was one FReeper willing to praise the murder as a valid way to resolve the "constitutional crisis" of a traffic stop. Others were busy formulating conspiracy theories in their shallow minds. These sorts of vermin should be banned forthwith from the forum. We don't need monsters lurking and posting their bloody drivel.
Pulled on 08/10/2002 8:52 AM Eastern by Admin Moderator, reason:
Could be easily misconstrued as condoning violence against police officers.
You think that with everything going on around here lately they're getting a little jumpy.
Since the other thread was pulled, I won't repeat his name or his screen name. (If the relatives haven't been notified, or the real name hasn't been officially released, it would be in bad taste anyway.)
I did not recognize the screen name, and a search revealed no recent posts. He had some threads listed on his homepage, but only a few comments of his on those threads. Apparently he wasn't a frequent participant in the forum, but perhaps he lurked alot.
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