An Akron police officer shot and wounded a man Friday afternoon during a chase in which he allegedly jumped into a cruiser and tried to run over a cop.
David Duffield, whose last known address was on Nestor Avenue, had nonlife-threatening injuries and was listed in stable condition at Akron General Medical Center, police said. No officers were hurt.
The officer who shot Duffield is a 16-year veteran; the officer was not named. The officer will be placed on paid administrative leave, according to a news release from Akron police.
Police asked the Ohio Bureau of Investigation to assist at the scene.
Events started shortly after 1 p.m. when police said they went to the 800 block of Carnegie Avenue to check on a report of a possibly suicidal 22-year-old man who had a handgun. The Portage County Sheriff’s Office had an arrest warrant for Duffield on a charge of violating a protection order, police said.
Police saw Duffield run out of a house on Stanwood Avenue. Officers chased him but lost sight of him.
Police said Duffield then jumped into one of the cruisers and tried to drive away, with officers chasing the vehicle on foot.
Duffield put the cruiser in reverse, sped up and tried to back over an officer, according to Akron police.
“An officer fired rounds at the suspect, striking the suspect one time in the upper shoulder,” according to the department news release. “The officer jumped out of the way of the cruiser, while the suspect continued to accelerate in reverse.”
The cruiser then drove over a curb into a fence, hit a fire hydrant across from 900 Ivor Ave. and stopped, police said.
Police took Duffield into custody and administered first aid until paramedics arrived, police said.
Akron police said that at 6:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office reported to Akron police that the man was violent and threatening to harm himself after leaving a house in Green. Police said they were unable to find the man that night.