Springfield officer who struck shooting victim has no disciplinary records; NAACP working on next steps
Jun. 18—A Springfield police officer who was put on administrative leave after she struck a shooting victim with her cruiser has no disciplinary records.
Amanda Rosales, 28, joined the police division in January 2020 after attending and graduating from the Basic Peace Office Training Academy at Clark State College, according to personnel files obtained by the Springfield News-Sun.
Rosales was one of 15 police academy graduates in the fall of 2019, according to Clark State's website. Each cadet spends 5-7 months of intense trainings and completes more than 730 hours of training.
According to her file, Rosales has no disciplinary records and has received merit increases each year.
Rosales struck shooting victim Eric Eugene Cole, 42, while responding to a 911 call Sunday night.
Officers were dispatched around 11:22 p.m. Sunday to the 1400 block of South Center Boulevard on a report of someone shot. Rosales was the first officer to respond to the scene and was "involved in an accident" with Cole, according to police.
Cole was flown by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital, where he died Monday morning, according to the Montgomery County coroner. The cause of death had not been determined as of Thursday afternoon.
His visitation will be held at noon and service at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23, at Restored Life Ministries, 1117 Innisfallen Ave. in Springfield. The burial will follow at Ferncliff Cemetery, according to his obituary. Arrangements are by Kinley Funeral Home.
The investigation into the incident involving Rosales is being conducted by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, according to Springfield Police Chief Lee Graf.
"This was an accident," Graf said during a press conference on Wednesday. "That doesn't mean it's OK. This was not an intentional act by the officer. I am sure of that."
Springfield police are investigating the shooting and have provided few details due to the ongoing investigating.
Graf joined Springfield city officials, the chairmen of the Community Police Advisory Team James Bacon and the president of the local NAACP Denise Williams on Wednesday morning for a press conference to discuss the shooting as well as the incident with the police cruiser.
Williams told the News-Sun on Thursday they are still waiting on information to determine the next steps.
"We're just waiting for all of the coroner's reports to come in, all of the reports from Ms. Rosales' attorney... just gathering information at this point," she said.
"Then I will meet with my team, and we will come up with a recommendation should we have one. Nine times out of 10, we definitely have recommendations. We got to get all the paperwork in, all the reports and all of that to look at it as a team and come to a decision," she added.
Williams added that they not only represent the family, but the community as a whole.
She assured Cole's family at the press conference that the organization will make sure there is transparency as the incident is investigated.
"This is why Springfield has an NAACP," Williams said. "We will get all the answers. Our arms spread wide."
Graf said Rosales did not see Cole on the street because she was reportedly looking at houses for addresses and the officer stopped immediately and began to render aid after the incident.
Cole's family demanded answers and raised multiple concerns about his death and the police response during Wednesday's press conference saying they did not think the police division was being fully transparent.
"I understand their grief," Graf said. "They want answers. I want to get them those answers. But there is a process, and it is going to take some time."
