Four Kent police officers have returned to duty after an internal investigation cleared them of wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a machete-wielding man in December.
A separate investigation by the Portage County Sheriff’s Office is ongoing with assistance by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
The four officers — identified as Michael Carnahan, 26; Benjamin Darrah, 41; Sean Driscoll, 26; and Dominic Poe, 30 — were placed on paid administrative leave while the internal investigation was conducted.
Lt. Michael Lewis said the officers returned to work last week. He said the investigation, conducted by the detective bureau, was comprehensive and found the officers did not violate any of the department’s policies. He declined to discuss the policies in detail, citing the sheriff’s ongoing investigation.
The four officers were involved in the fatal shooting of Douglas Yon, 25, on the morning of Dec. 17.
According to police reports and a 911 caller, the officers were called to the 600 block of Virginia Avenue, where an argument took place.
Yon ignored warnings and ran at officers with the machete, prompting them to open fire, according to police. He died in the middle of the road at about 3:45 a.m.
The 911 caller, who was among at least five people inside the home, said Yon had refused to leave the home and that he planned to use the machete and “go after” any police who responded to her call.
In December, Kent Police Chief Michelle Lee said the department’s policy is to treat edged weapons as lethal weapons and to respond to lethal weapons with lethal force.
The shooting was not captured on camera. Officers did not wear body cameras, and a police cruiser with a dashboard camera was pointed away from the incident.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.