'You got me': Video shows encounter that led to Lenawee County deputies shooting suspect

OGDEN TWP. — Video from Lenawee County sheriff's deputies' body-worn cameras shows the encounter early March 9 with a suspect in an Ohio shooting that led to the deputies shooting the man.

In the video, which was edited by the sheriff's office to remove some audio and blur the 53-year-old suspect's face, the suspect can be heard threatening to put a bullet in a deputy's head 34 seconds before deputies at the residence on Neuroth Highway are seen retreating from him and opening fire.

Sheriff's deputies were at the home in the 13000 block of Neuroth Highway, looking for the possibly intoxicated person who was suspected by Fulton County, Ohio, authorities of shooting at a home there that night. The sheriff's office previously reported that when the deputies encountered the suspect at his home, he threatened to shoot one of them before exiting the back door of the home. He appeared to point a handgun at deputies gathered there, and the deputies "gave loud verbal commands as they retreated and fired at the suspect to stop the threat. Deputies immediately administered life-saving treatment to the suspect who was transported by ambulance to a local hospital and is expected to recover."

The video released Thursday illustrates the earlier report. The entire incident, from when one deputy first talks to the suspect at about 1:25 a.m. to when they start treating him, lasts about a minute and a half.

One video clip shows a deputy approaching a window of the house and calling out, "Sheriff's office. Sheriff's office. Come out to the front door. … We need to talk to you."

The audio goes silent briefly before a man inside is heard saying "bullet in your head," then a pause, then he says, "No problem."

"What?" the deputy asks during the pause.

"Stay right there," the deputy says, drawing his pistol. "Stay right there."

On his radio, the deputy alerts others that the suspect is "coming out to the front."

The deputy then walks around the corner of the house to a patio and driveway area and asks another deputy who is standing near an SUV if he heard the exchange he had with the suspect.

"When he said, 'We need to put a bullet in your head,' to me, I said, "Stay right there,'" he tells his partner.

Nine seconds later, a screen door is heard squeaking as it opens. Two seconds later, one of the deputies shouts, "Put your hands up! Put your hands up!"

Then one of the deputies who was closest to the suspect begins running away from him while pointing his pistol back at him. The deputy who was threatened and was now standing next to the passenger side of the SUV also starts backing up. One deputy says, "Woah," as one or more of the deputies continue to yell at the suspect to put his hands up. Seven or eight shots are heard as the deputy who was threatened continues moving behind the SUV, using it for cover.

The video from the second deputy's camera starts with him standing between the house and the driver's side of the SUV in the driveway. He's facing some wind chimes, which can be heard in the light breeze. The first deputy is then heard telling him about the "bullet in your head" remark.

He then walks around the front of the SUV, then the door squeaking open is heard. The deputy is then heard ordering the man to put his hands up, then retreating, yelling, "Hey hey hey hey, put your hands up!"

As the shots are fired, he joins his partner in moving behind the SUV.

After the shots are fired, the deputies quickly approach the suspect, calling out, "He's on the ground." Another says, "Cuff him up."

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The deputies are heard holstering their pistols.

The first view of the man is of him laying on the concrete on his left side, perpendicular to the passenger side of the SUV with his feet near the front tire. He's wearing a blue sweater or sweatshirt, light-colored pants and sneakers. He is not moving much and can be heard saying a few times, "You got me."

A small amount of blood is seen near his legs, and a larger amount of blood is seen under his head. He appears to be holding the left side of his head or face with his left hand.

"Where you hit? Where you hit?" one of the deputies asks.

The suspect doesn't seem to answer, continuing to say, "You got me."

Another is heard saying, "Gun's secured," apparently in reference to the weapon they reported he brandished as he exited the house.

The three deputies at the scene were not injured, the sheriff's office reported. They were placed on administrative leave according to sheriff's office policy. The sheriff's office has asked the Michigan State Police to investigate the shooting.

— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee County Sheriff's Office releases video of shooting by deputies