PERRYSBURG (WTOL) - Nearly two months after an officer-involved shooting in Perrysburg Township, a report into the city of Perrysburg Police Division’s response to the incident has been released.
Perrysburg Mayor Tom Mackin sought a review by the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office into the events of Aug. 27, for which city Chief Daniel Paez drew criticism for potentially violating a mutual aid policy and not providing assistance to Perrysburg Township officers during the situation.
On that day, an armed man led police on a high-speed chase and also took a hostage on Neiderhouse Road near State Rt. 199. Perrysburg Township police shot and killed him.
Paez pulled four city officers from the scene of the shooting, later stating he ordered them to leave because he didn’t think they were experienced enough.
The Lucas County Sheriff’s Office investigation into whether Paez made appropriate decisions and orders involved reviewing dash cam videos, dispatcher logs, the established mutual aid agreements and policies.
“The report clearly identifies areas where we fell short on August 27th. We can, and must, do better. That is why I will use this opportunity to review our longstanding policies, procedures, and protocols,” Mackin said. “Where appropriate they will be revised, updated, and improved so that the very high standards of the Perrysburg Police Division are maintained and enhanced.”
The sheriff’s office report outlines three key concerns from the day: the police pursuits of the vehicle, an order from the officer in charge telling Perrysburg officers to stay in city limits unless mutual aid was requested, and Paez’ actions.
Despite the fact that Perrysburg’s mutual aid policy outlines “Perrysburg Police officers should immediately respond when a situation involving shots fired and hostage taken is occurring in an area adjacent to the city,” Chief Paez told Officer Jim Williams to keep all officers in the city limits unless assistance was requested -- after it was known that shots were fired.
Four city officers eventually arrived at the scene and were asked to relieve the township officers. Paez came on the scene and had a discussion with Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn. Wasylyshyn said he was leaving, as he was not needed.
At that point, Paez then ordered his officers back to their vehicles. The investigation shows Paez was unable to see what his officers were doing at the scene because of his vantage point.
Further, Paez said he never talked with the incident commander or any township officer.
“The report specifically found that the Chief’s failure to check in with the incident commander at the command station before deciding about how to proceed was not the best way to handle the situation,” Mackin said. “The Chief acknowledges this finding. Although I am certain he made what he thought at the time was the best decision for his people, that decision was a mistake.”
Mackin also stressed that the report by Lucas County was not a criminal investigation into the chief, but the issue will be further addressed.
“I think it is also important to note that the report does not state, imply, or provide a basis for a conclusion there was a dereliction of duty by anyone involved in the incident. That term is defined in Ohio law and means the failure to prevent or halt a criminal offense, or the failure to apprehend an offender," Mackin said. "The absence of such a finding is important because words matter. There is a vast, and significant difference, between concluding that our personnel could (and should) have done more in response to this incident, and the inflammatory and unsupported charge of dereliction of duty, which is a crime under Ohio law. "
In addition, Mackin said he is looking at an analysis of communication systems and steps to ensure personnel understand the mutual aid policies in detail, and that they are thoroughly trained on how to implement those policies.
“Anticipating the recommendation made in the report that the city evaluate how the Police Division communicates both internally and with other law-enforcement agencies in our area, I’ve already tasked my team to do a full analysis of our communications systems to identify weaknesses and to propose solutions to correct those weaknesses. Because that process has already started, I can report now that I anticipate that the administration will be able to make a recommendation to council no later than in January 2019,” Mackin said.
