By Matthew Skrajner MSkrajner@News-Herald.com @MattNewsHerald
Middlefield Police have released the dash cam footage of the deadly March 10 officer-involved shooting in which a Mentor-on-the-Lake man was killed and two officers were injured.
The nearly 2 1/2 minute video begins by showing Officers Brandon Savage and Erin Thomas driving southbound at about 5:55 p.m. on Route 608, when a green Saturn failed to stop at the intersection of 608 and East High Street.
The officers enacted the traffic stop a short distance north of the intersection. As the officers prepared to approach the vehicle, the video appears to show the officers discussing movement in the Saturn.
“He’s hiding something,” Thomas can be heard saying.
Sitting in the passenger seat, she then exited the cruiser and circled back behind it to the driver side. Savage remained in the driver seat.
Before Thomas reached the front bumper of the cruiser, James Gilkerson, 42, quickly exited his vehicle and began firing on the officers with a FEG 7.62x39, commonly referred to as a AK-47 style semi-automatic rifle. About 45 seconds elapsed from when Gilkerson stopped his vehicle to when he exited and began firing.
Gilkerson can then be seen moving away from his vehicle out further into the middle of 608 and toward the police cruiser. After being hit by shots from Savage, Gilkerson moves back toward the Saturn repeatedly yelling, “Kill me.”
As Gilkerson drops to one knee still pointing his gun at the officers, Savage asks Thomas, “Are you hit?”
“Yes,” Thomas said. “You cover, I’ll call dispatch.”
Savage then returned fire, hitting Gilkerson multiple times. He was pronounced dead on the scene with a total of 19 wounds. One in the head and one in the chest are believed to be the fatal wounds. Nine bullets removed from Gilkerson’s body came from Savage’s weapon.
The shootout lasted about 26 seconds. All told, Savage fired 29 rounds, Thomas 17 rounds and Gilkerson 33 rounds.
On April 26, Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz concluded both Savage and Thomas were “in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death... the only reasonable recourse for both officers was to use their firearms in self defense.”
On Friday, in the council chambers in Middlefield, Police Chief Arnold Stanko said Savage, who had shrapnel injuries to multiple parts of his body, had since returned to work. Thomas, who lost her left index finger, is still recovering and is likely facing a second surgery.
Police still do not have a definitive motive behind the shooting, but Stanko did not call it a suicide by cop, noting Gilkerson did not yell “Kill me” until after he was shot.
“He got out of the car to kill my officers. That was his intent,” the chief said. “However, the officers got the better of him.”
The department also displayed other items found in Gilkerson’s, including multiple containers of gun powder, eight 40-round magazines, a black ski mask, black leather gloves and a .22 caliber rifle with a scope.
“What he was going to do with this? We don’t have any idea,” Stanko said. “My officers were outgunned. We only had 9 millimeters and he had an AK-47.”
While stopping short of saying these types of guns should be outlawed, the chief did say there was not really any practical use for them. “They’re designed for mass destruction. Period. They’re designed to kill people and annihilate people,” he said.
Also in the vehicle were numerous instructional books and DVDs, covering topics ranging from acquiring new identification, homemade weapons, backyard rocketry and combat tactics.
With the gunman surprising the officers, Stanko said they were saved by their training, tactics and the grace of God.
“This is about two police officers that were shot and a scumbag that’s dead and gone, and he can’t hurt nobody else no more,” he said.
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
You mean the cops needed more then 7 rounds to stop a criminal, but our politicians said 7 is enough to stop any threat
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
Yes, the lives of police are much more valuable. Everybody knows that. They need protection. For the mundane? Seven rounds - GOOD LUCK.
Yes, we know you hate all authority...very boring...very predictable....good luck!
Police need more rounds to combat criminals who do not obey the law or regulations and do not carry 7 round clips. Hard for you to understand becuase it's just too obvious!
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
Police need more rounds to combat criminals who do not obey the law or regulations and do not carry 7 round clips. Hard for you to understand becuase it's just too obvious! []
So you believe citizens should be limited to 7 rounds in defending themselves against the same scumbags the police must face. This is the perfect example as to why if you pass gun laws only the law abiding citizens will be effected. Anyone who obeys such laws put themselves at risk if ever having to confront someone like this man, as the saying goes better judged by 12 then carried by 6.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
So you believe citizens should be limited to 7 rounds in defending themselves against the same scumbags the police must face. This is the perfect example as to why if you pass gun laws only the law abiding citizens will be effected. Anyone who obeys such laws put themselves at risk if ever having to confront someone like this man, as the saying goes better judged by 12 then carried by 6.
All law abiding citizens are potential murderers. That's just human nature as decided by the state. That is why they can only have 7 rounds. Cops are always the "good guys" and can have any weapon they want because the costume makes them immune to murderous tendencies. Also, they understand that murderers and mentally deranged people will still get their hands on these weapons with high capacity clips, so they need to protect themselves when responding to a call where the victim runs out of their 7 rounds.
It's perfectly logical. The average citizen will be put at a disadvantage by the way of state law, and the police will come in properly armed after you are over run and murdered by the criminals that out gunned you. Then the police will be honored as hero's for capturing or killing the person that murdered you.
That's basically what it is, and also notice citizens aren't expected to miss with those 7 shots, however like this case the officers fired 46 rounds and missed 27 times, over half their shots missed their targets, and according to some of our local cheerleaders the cops should only have these weapons because of their great training and marksmanship, what a joke.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
That's basically what it is, and also notice citizens aren't expected to miss with those 7 shots, however like this case the officers fired 46 rounds and missed 27 times, over half their shots missed their targets, and according to some of our local cheerleaders the cops should only have these weapons because of their great training and marksmanship, what a joke.
Yes, logic would dictate that the average citizen protecting themselves from an armed assault would need more rounds than a trained police officer since they are not trained to react under such a stressful situation. If police are hitting their target less than 50% of the time in these situations, I can imagine the average citizen would be less. But hey, seven rounds was arbitrarily determined by our government masters as the sufficient amount of rounds to protect our lives. It's for our safety of course.
Facing an AK47 firing at you, want to see how accurate you guys are!!! Pinpoint accuracy in a firefight is movie hype....have the rounds coming at you hitting you and whzizing by, that's reality and you just SHOOT!!!!!! Aim for the body and hope to hit!!! Sighting in and shooting like on the range is not an option!
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
Facing an AK47 firing at you, want to see how accurate you guys are!!! Pinpoint accuracy in a firefight is movie hype....have the rounds coming at you hitting you and whzizing by, that's reality and you just SHOOT!!!!!! Aim for the body and hope to hit!!! Sighting in and shooting like on the range is not an option!
That was the point. The average citizen gets 7 rounds when faced with a situation like this. I agree, spray as many rounds in the direction of the shooter. That is what police can do, the average citizen is expected to shoot seven rounds and reload.
That was the point. The average citizen gets 7 rounds when faced with a situation like this. I agree, spray as many rounds in the direction of the shooter. That is what police can do, the average citizen is expected to shoot seven rounds and reload.
that was YOUR point!!! Reality eludes you. Some guy comes at you with AK47 what is a 30 round 9mm gonna do for you...NOTHING!
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
that was YOUR point!!! Reality eludes you. Some guy comes at you with AK47 what is a 30 round 9mm gonna do for you...NOTHING!
Then cops don't need a 15 round capacity. Ok, we agree!
Surely you can't justify 15 round clips for one person but not another. Unless cops lives are more valuable or all Americans are potential mass murderers.
Then cops don't need a 15 round capacity. Ok, we agree!
Surely you can't justify 15 round clips for one person but not another. Unless cops lives are more valuable or all Americans are potential mass murderers.
No we don't agree...you twist it your way but leave me out! You don't speak for me and never will!
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
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