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'Bigger than life': Bluffton community mourns fallen police officer Dominic Francis

Officer Francis was fatally struck by a suspect vehicle in the early morning hours on Thursday while attempting to deploy stop sticks during a pursuit.

BLUFFTON, Ohio — Bluffton is a small, tight-knit community. The population is right around 4,000, according to Google. 

The community has experienced an unimaginable loss with the death of Officer Dominic Francis. The Bluffton Police Department has only 9 full-time officers and 5 part-time officers. 

Now, they've lost one of their own.

"Today is a sad day. This community lost a hero. He (Francis) is an outstanding police officer. His heart was big," said Bluffton Police Chief Ryan Burkholder.

Officer Francis was fatally struck by a suspect vehicle in the early morning hours on Thursday along I-75 near exit 142 while he was attempting to deploy stop sticks during a pursuit. The pursuit ended up coming all the way into Northeast Ohio.

"He's always ready to go, doing the best he can for his community that he serves. He will be – missed," Chief Burkholder added. The last line of duty deaths for the Bluffton Police Department occurred a century agao. Now they must add another plaque to their wall of honor. 

Dominic Francis wore many hats. In the Cory-Rawson community, he was also a teacher, a coach, even a school bus driver. The school district put out the following statement after Officer Francis' death: "The Cory-Rawson community is deeply saddened at the senseless death of Dominic Francis. Dominic was someone many of our students and families knew as he was deeply involved in the community. Dominic was a graduate of Cory-Rawson and recently coached football, supervised our weight room and assisted with coaching softball. He also served as a substitute teacher and was a part-time bus driver for us. Dominic was a volunteer firefighter in our community in addition to his work as a police officer in nearby Bluffton. We will unite in the coming days to support our students, staff and community as we all process this tragedy."

Cory-Rawson School Superintendent Jay Clark remembered talking with Officer Francis just two days before he was killed. "He was a guy who was always friendly. I actually saw him at a track meet Tuesday evening, we exchanged some jokes. He was always a really friendly person, kind of a bigger than life, never met a stranger kind of guy.”  

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