AndrewBlakeWilloughby Hills, OH – Police have released dashcam video of an officer-involved shooting that ended with two deputies and the suspect wounded (video below).
On Monday, Timmothy Schmidt, 31, pleaded guilty in the shootings of two Willoughby Hills police officers.
The Willoughby Hills Police Department released the dashcam footage of the Sept. 28, 2017 incident just hours after Schmidt entered his plea and admitted shooting Willoughby Hills Police Officers Cory Planisek and Craig Anderson, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The incident began when police responded to a 911 call from a car dealership reporting a “customer problem,” the News-Herald reported.
Witnesses said Schmidt was yelling at employees and appeared to be “under the influence,” according to WEWS-TV.
Officers Planisek and Anderson were escorting Schmidt out of Classic BMW when they learned he had an active warrant involving a traffic case in Garfield Heights, police said.
When Schmidt realized he was going to be arrested, he tried to make a run for it, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
Police said Schmidt reached for his gun as he ran from the officers. Then he turned around and faced Officer Planisek.
The dashcam footage showed Officer Planisek capturing Schmidt in the garage of the dealership, and then tackling him. The first round was fired as the pair tumbled to the ground.
In the video, Officer Planisek and Schmidt wrestled on the ground and more shots were fired.
Officer Anderson was shot in the exchange. The video showed him limping away, and then returning a few seconds later to assist Officer Planisek in subduing the suspect.
Officer Anderson shot Schmidt in the midsection, and the struggle quickly ended, the video showed.
Officer Planisek, a four-year veteran of the Willoughby Hills Police Department, was shot in his leg and his chest.
Twenty-eight-year veteran Officer Anderson was shot in his leg and in his side.
The News-Herald reported that both officers were transported to the hospital, where they spent several days.
Authorities said that Schmidt, who was shot by Officer Anderson, spent almost seven weeks in the hospital before he was released, arrested, and taken to the Lake County Jail.
Schmidt, who claimed to be “heavily medicated” at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to one count of resisting arrest and two counts of felonious assault on a peace officer, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
His sentencing is scheduled for April 26.
Watch the video of the incident below. WARNING – Graphic Content: