“There was just a shooting. It looks like possibly a blue on blue,” the Drug Enforcement Administration agent told a dispatcher.
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The federal agent clarified that she meant a “police officer on police officer. (The) male is claiming to be an undercover…”
The DEA agent and the yet-unidentified, off-duty Miami Twp. officer were joined on scene at the busy Interstate 75 interchange by a Jackson Twp. sergeant and his police chief, Jon Schade, who said they happened to be passing by en route to Centerville.
Minutes before, authorities said, the teen wearing a ski mask robbed the Shell station at 125 Byers Road and was seeking to flee by carjacking vehicles after his vehicle had stopped.
RELATED: 17-year-old robbery suspect shot by off-duty officer in Miamisburg
“It was a scary situation just because we didn’t know who the Miami Twp. officer was at that time,” Schade said. “We didn’t know who the suspect was at that time, and what his intentions were.”
The dispatcher asked the DEA agent if the police officer was shot.
“We’re getting identification right now,” she said. “We’re with three plainclothes police officers right now in the middle of the intersection. The male that was just shot is alleging he is an undercover. We’re looking for identification right now.”
The 17-year-old was wounded in the right arm. He was wearing a sling in court Tuesday, when he was charged with aggravated robbery with a firearm specification, a first-degree felony.
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The charge includes an accusation that he “did discharge the firearm at a peace officer or corrections officer while committing the offense,” court records show.
“The charge itself is so serious, so potentially heinous,” Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge Anthony Capizzi told the teen.
“People in that gas station could have been killed,” the judge added. “People at 725 and 75 could have been killed. Police officers – on and off duty – could have been killed.”
The prosecution said they plan to seek a bind over of the case to adult court. Such felonies with firearm specifications involving 16- and 17-year-old are eligible to be transferred, according to Ohio law.
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Assistant Prosecutor Julie Bruns said more charges are also expected. Those charges may come soon and “most likely” will include impersonating an officer, according to Miamisburg Sgt. Jeff Muncy.
Muncy declined to identify the off-duty Miami Twp. police officer, noting the investigation remains open. Nonetheless, Jackson Twp.’s police chief – who helped subdue the teen – said the officer’s actions were proper.
“I wouldn’t question or criticize anything that was done that day – based on what I saw, “ Schade said. “Deadly force is something that can’t be taken lightly. But in a situation such as this, that has to be stopped immediately.”
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