TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo Police Chief Michael Troendle said Thursday "It appears our officers did what they had to do," when Albert Alderman Jr., 33, repeatedly pointed a handgun at them as he fled when they were attempting to arrest him in connection with the strangulation death of his live-in girlfriend earlier in the day.
Toledo police released body-camera and dashboard-camera footage during a Thursday news conference that shows the incidents that led up to officers shooting and killing Alderman, who fled officers on Sunday.
In the footage shown during Thursday's news conference, officers can be seen firing dozens of rounds -- some from inside a police cruiser -- at Alderman.
Troendle said the four officers involved in the shooting fired more than 70 rounds total in the incident. A coroner's report showed that Alderman was shot 35 times.
Though Alderman repeatedly pointed a weapon at police and they believed he was firing at them, Troendle said no shots were fired from Alderman's gun, which may have been malfunctioning.
Troendle said he plans to review the shooting further -- particularly because officers shot through the windshield from inside a police vehicle -- to be sure all policies were followed. An internal investigation is ongoing and a firearms-review board will determine whether the shooting was justified, the chief said.
"It's rather unusual for us to shoot from inside our vehicles," the chief said.
Troendle revealed Thursday that the officers involved in Sunday's shooting were Sgt. Robert Reed, Officer Aaron Manders, Officer Zachary Cairl and Officer Carl Grady. All four were initially placed on administrative leave, but returned to work Thursday, the chief said. One officer who suffered hearing damage because of the gunshots in an enclosed police cruiser is on light duty, he said.
The incident began when Alderman called authorities shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday to report that his live-in girlfriend, Kelsie Barnier, 29, was unresponsive and not breathing.
"Please hurry!" Alderman can be heard saying in a 911 call Troendle played at Thursday's news conference.
Detectives who responded to the couple's home in the 900 block of North Byrne Road found Barnier dead, but observed no trauma to her body, police said Sunday. An autopsy later revealed Barnier had been strangled to death and authorities ruled her death a homicide.
Officers were familiar with Alderman's history of domestic violence and intended to take him into custody when they first went to the house, but their plans were thwarted when they arrived and found the couple's children leaving with their grandmother, Troendle said.
"The timing of the grandma leaving with the kids prevented us from doing any takedown of him in the driveway," the chief said.
Detectives then made contact with Alderman again and he agreed to meet with them before informing them he would not meet with them.
"We tried to get him to come in but eventually he decided he was not going to come in," Troendle said Thursday.
A relative of Alderman interviewed by police after the shooting told officers that Alderman's intention was to provoke police to kill him in a "suicide by cop," scenario Troendle said.
Just before 3 p.m. Sunday, officers from the Toledo police SWAT Team saw Alderman leaving his home on Byrne Road in his car. During a chase through west Toledo streets Alderman pointed a gun at the pursuing officers out of the driver’s side window of his vehicle, police said Sunday.
Alderman was not allowed to carry a weapon because of his history of domestic violence charges, Troendle said.
Video shared Thursday shows officers pursuing Alderman on city streets until Alderman eventually gets out of his vehicle near the intersection of Secor Road and Avondale Avenue and once again points a handgun at officers.
Once the chase ended, officers can be heard on body-cam video shouting repeatedly at Alderman, "Drop the gun!"
Alderman fell down when shot, but attempted to get back up and continued to point the gun at police," Troendle said.
"It appears he is still a threat because he has a weapon in his hand and he is trying to re-engage us," Troendle said.
Even after he was shot again, Troendle said Alderman fell a second time with the weapon still in his hand. Officers eventually were able to kick the gun away from Alderman's hand.
Alderman was pronounced dead at the scene by Toledo Fire and Rescue Department.
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