Agency anticipates lengthy investigation into Portage County deputy-related fatal shooting

It likely will take hundreds of hours of work to complete a state investigation into the shooting death that involved the Portage County Sheriff's Office on Saturday morning in Windham Township.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation's crime scene and special investigations units are investigating the fatal shooting that apparently involved a neighbor dispute Saturday at a residence in the 8000 block of Werger Road in Windham Township. The sheriff's office asked the BCI to investigate.

Shooting death:One dead in Windham Twp. shooting in Portage County after police arrive to handle dispute

It was the third shooting since 2021 involving a Portage County deputy.

A woman died in Saturday's incident, according to social media posts. As of Monday afternoon, the sheriff's office had not issued an update on the incident beyond an initial news release.

500 hours typical for investigations

A BCI investigation typically takes about 500 man-hours to complete, according to Steve Irwin, a spokesman for Ohio Attorney General David Yost. The BCI is part of the attorney general's office.

"It really depends on the scope or scale of the incident," Irwin said.

Garrettsville police and deputies were told while going to the scene about 9:30 a.m. that one of the people involved in the dispute had a firearm. "Once officers arrived at the scene and began to investigate, shots were fired," the sheriff's office said in a short news release. The release, posted on social media, did not say how many shots were fired or who fired them.

An unnamed woman was later declared dead at University Hospitals Portage Medical Center in Ravenna. No on else was reported injured and few details have been released.

The BCI crime scene unit processed physical evidence at the scene, while the special investigations unit conducted interviews of witnesses, neighbors and the law enforcement officers involved at the scene, Irwin said.

BCI will send case to county prosecutor

"BCI gathers all of the facts of what happened and then that is referred to the county prosecutor," Irwin said.

The investigations sometimes can take longer, depending on the processing of medical toxicology, digital evidence and other evidence, Irwin said.

Once BCI presents its findings, a county prosecutor has the option to decline to file charges, take the evidence to a grand jury or appoint a special prosecutor who also would then take the case to a grand jury, Irwin said.

Two other Portage County deputy-involved shootings since 2001

In the two previous shootings involving the Portage County Sheriff's Office since 2021, the Portage County Prosecutor's Office cleared the involved deputies of wrongdoing. BCI investigated both of those incidents.

The Record-Courier reported that in the first incident, on May 12, 2021, deputies went to the home of a Ravenna Township man to arrest him on outstanding warrants. The man was shot when he allegedly lunged at deputies with a knife. He was charged and his case is still pending in Portage County Court of Common Pleas.

Then on July 4, an armed Ravenna Township man was fatally shot after sheriff's personnel responded to a domestic violence call at the man's Bennington Pike home. The BCI investigation determined that the man never fired his gun, which was loaded. Witnesses reported he pointed the gun at the deputies before they fired.

Portage County may buy bodycams for deputies

Portage sheriff's deputies do not wear body cameras. The county commissioners said Monday they are looking to buy them.

Portage County Commissioner Vicki Kline said the three commissioners would be "all for" bodycams for the sheriff's office and believes the cameras would protect the county from lawsuits.

"If everything is on camera, it's not a 'he said, she said' thing," Kline said. "If it's all on camera, there's protection."

Kline said she is concerned about opting to buy dashboard cameras instead of bodycams because dashcams would capture only what happens in front of a cruiser and "that's not where things happen."

She said society in general is becoming more violent and is concerned about people being able to carry a weapon without registering it. 

Last year, the sheriff's office discussed with commissioners the idea of purchasing body cameras.

At the time, the office was interested in pursuing part of the $10 million in grants set aside in the state's biennial budget to buy bodycams for officers.

Portage County Commissioner Tony Badalamenti said Monday the last time he spoke to Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski that the sheriff was consulting with other law enforcement agencies on whether dash cameras or body cameras would be best. There has been no discussion about the cameras lately, he said.

With reports from the Record-Courier. Beacon Journal reporter Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him @JimMackinnonABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/JimMackinnonABJ.