MANSFIELD — A Richland County grand jury has ruled the Dec. 3 shooting death of a Mansfield man by sheriff’s deputies was justified use of force and that no criminal charges will be filed.
That announcement was made Monday afternoon in a joint email by Richland County Prosecutor Gary Bishop and Sheriff Steve Sheldon, who said the presentation to a grand jury on the facts of the case lasted more than two hours.
The two men said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation was summoned to the 1116 Lexwood Road scene after the shooting and conducted an independent investigation, including the collection of evidence and interviews with involved parties.
Killed during the incident was Craig Wright, 60, a resident at the Lexwood home on the city’s far south side, west of Lexington Avenue and north of Hanley Road.
According to the joint statement, the sheriff’s department was contacted by an out-of-town family member, requesting a welfare check be done for Wright after several family members received calls and texts from him indicating he was contemplating suicide.
Upon arrival, deputies were granted access to the home by Wright’s wife, who indicated he had been drinking and was in an upstairs bedroom.
“As two deputies approached Mr. Wright, he became very agitated. Despite the deputies’ efforts to re assure him they were only there to talk to him and to de-escalate the situation; Mr. Wright became combative,” according to Monday’s joint statement.
“A struggle ensued during which Mr. Wright retrieved a handgun from the bed he had gone to and shot Sheriff’s Deputy (Michael) Pawlikowski in the right arm.
“Deputy (Justin) Ady wrestled the firearm away from Mr. Wright and struck Wright with the firearm in an effort to subdue him. Given that Deputy Pawlikowski had been wounded and Deputy Ady was securing the deadly weapon; the deputies were not able to secure Mr. Wright at that point.
“Deputy Ady drew his service weapon and began repeatedly directing Mr. Wright to stop moving and to stay calm, etc. Mr. Wright repeatedly told Deputy Ady to kill him, that he wanted to die, etc. Wright also made obscene gestures and refused repeated commands to cooperate,” according to the statement released Monday.
The statement said the situation continued for several minutes with Wright refusing to obey Ady’s commands and requesting deputies shoot him.
“As this went on, Mr. Wright got up from the bed, stood up, and made several efforts to move closer to the deputy. Deputy Ady radioed for assistance several times throughout the encounter. Mr. Wright continued to disobey the deputy’s commands and ultimately advanced directly at Deputy Ady while stating that he wasn’t going to jail,” according to the statement.
Ady fired five rounds, striking Wright in the hand and wrist, upper thigh and right shoulder area. Back-up officers and paramedics arrived almost immediately afterwards, according to the statement, which said the encounter was captured on videotape from Ady’s body-worn camera.
Both deputies were placed on administrative leave after the incident, per department policy, until an investigation was complete.
