COLUMBUS, Ohio) — A Delaware County grand jury declined to indict law enforcement officers in the shooting of Jonathan Myers, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today.
“BCI’s special agents were requested to conduct an independent investigation of the facts and answered the call with speed and precision,” Yost said. “The case files now appear on our website for everyone to review as part of my commitment to public transparency. It is our practice to post investigations for fatal incidents – however given the public’s interest in this case, I am also adding these files to our website.”
On Friday, March 11, Yost’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation was requested by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office to investigate an officer-involved shooting that occurred on I-71, just north of Columbus.
BCI’s investigation found that law enforcement responded to 911 calls of a subject walking in traffic on I-71 in the area of Polaris Parkway. Several officers responded and located the subject. Three Columbus Division of Police officers fired their service weapons. Myers was struck, received medical aid and was treated for a single gunshot wound to the leg.
Once completed, BCI’s investigation was referred to a special prosecutor from the Attorney General’s Office, appointed by the Delaware County prosecutor to present the case to a grand jury. The grand jury issued a “no bill” indictment.
As part of its efforts to document all pertinent facts of the incident, BCI did the following:
- Interviewed Myers, the officers involved in the incident, civilian witnesses and relatives of Myers.
- Reviewed footage from ODOT traffic cameras, civilian cell phone cameras and police dashboard and body-worn cameras that captured any portion of the incident.
- Processed the crime scene for potential evidence, including photographing, searching, measuring, documenting and collecting evidence.
- Conducted forensic laboratory analysis and evidentiary comparison on firearms-related evidence, including for casings and projectiles.
- Evaluated training and personnel records of the involved officers.
BCI’s case files have been posted to the attorney general’s website. The site archives case files for officer-involved critical incidents only after a case is closed, as state law excempted any earlier release in order to ensure a fair investigation and judicial process
