ASHTABULA, Ohio — It's a controversial hire in the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office: a former Ashtabula police officer who has twice been sued for excessive force, leading to settlements with the city totaling $9 million.
3News Investigates dug into why former Police Lieutenant Daniel Gillespie has been given a second chance.
In the early morning hours of April 13, 2022, Ashtabula police officers assembled at both ends of the Spring Street Bridge, where an emotionally distraught David Ward Jr., 23, was standing in the middle of the 1,000-foot span while holding a shotgun and threatening suicide.
Ward had called 911 earlier in the evening and told dispatchers he wanted to die, but said, "I don't want to hurt an officer. I respect them. Like, you know?"
Police body camera video shows Gillespie as the SWAT sharpshooter positions himself during what would become a nearly 90-minute standoff.
"He says that he's highly intoxicated," Gillespie radioed to another officer. "He says he want to go suicide by cop."
At the other end of the bridge, officers can be heard talking about Ward.
"He cocked it, like, twice," one officer is heard saying to other officers on scene, speaking about Ward's gun. "Something tells me that thing ain't (loaded). It's empty."
A police negotiator urged Ward by cell phone to give up, but after an hour and a half, Ward begins to walk toward Gillespie's end of the bridge.
"We can talk this through. I just need you to walk away from the gun," yelled Gillespie to Ward. The lieutenant continues to shout orders to Ward, such as, "Drop it! We don't have to do this," for about 90 seconds.
After the eighth time yelling "Drop the gun!" there are a few seconds of silence, then the sound of one gunshot from Gillespie's rifle equipped with a scope.
Ward died from a single shot to the chest.
State investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation measured the distance between Gillespie and Ward when the fatal shot was fired. They determined that the two men were 482 feet, or more than a football field and a half, apart.
"He shot David from a distance of 482 feet," Matthew Besser, attorney for the Ward family, says. "Nobody at all was in danger, and all they had to do was talk David down."
Ward's family filed an excessive force lawsuit, claiming Ward was holding his cell phone in one hand and the shotgun in the other when he was shot.
"David had an unloaded shotgun and he was not running at anybody," Besser told 3News investigates. "He was not pointing the gun at anybody, and that's by the officer's own admission."
Another Ashtabula sniper as well as an Ohio state trooper had similar sightlines on Ward, but neither fired their rifles. Additionally, the lawsuit claims officers did not approach the mortally wounded Ward for "several minutes" and even handcuffed him as he was bleeding on the ground. He later died from his injuries at Ashtabula County Medical Center.
"Gillespie used deadly force against Ward without a constitutionally adequate warning," the filing read. "Gillespie's use of deadly force against Ward was objectively unreasonable and excessive."
Ashtabula Police Chief Robert Stell defended Gillespie's actions.
"It was difficult for us to tell what type of firearm it was other than it was a long firearm that could very, very easily make that shot at the officers, as well," Stell said.
A grand jury declined to indict Gillespie on criminal charges. Meanwhile, the city, through its insurance company, weighed the risks of a trial and settled the lawsuit last month for $2.5 million.
However, this is not the first time that Gillespie has been sued in federal court for excessive force.
In 2017, Gillespie fired three AR-15 bullets into Brendan Hester after being called to a burglary at an Ashtabula home, with Hester claiming he had actually been holding the intruder on the ground at gunpoint while waiting for police to arrive when he was shot. Hester was left paralyzed and later filed a civil rights lawsuit.
After another BCI investigation, a grand jury in that case also declined to indict Gillespie. The city settled the lawsuit in 2019 for $6.5 million.
After a total of $9 million in payouts, insurance companies would not cover Gillespie, so the city officials said they had no choice but to fire him. However, one week later, Gillespie had a new job as an Ashtabula County sheriff's deputy.
"He's a very good police officer," declared Sheriff William Niemi, who is unapologetic about hiring Gillespie. "In this line of work, we have to make decisions in a split-second, and he was cleared from a grand jury. He was investigated by BCI and cleared of the shooting."
Unlike the city, the county is self-insured through the County Risk-Sharing Authority, which is a self-insurance pool established by Ohio counties. It means that taxpayer money covers any claims of law enforcement liability.
We asked Niemi if an officer who's cost a city a total of $9 million in claims gave him pause for consideration.
"It does give you pause, but you have to look at the other side of it," the sheriff answered. "I don't understand why the city didn't fight for him."
3News Investigates obtained city records showing that the $9 million in settlements were covered by the city's law enforcement liability insurance policies. However, since the lawsuits, the city's premiums have quadrupled — and for a lot less protection. Currently the city no longer has coverage for any claims beyond $2 million.
For David Ward's mother, the lawsuit was not about money.
"I would rather have my son here. Absolutely," Brandy Yoho said. "Once the policies were changed in the city and the officer was terminated. That to me was my win."
The settlement included two key additions to police policy, including language that prioritizes the use of de-escalation tactics in order to reduce the need for deadly force. Secondly, officers must now give a warning that they will shot if a suspect does not comply, when it is feasible.
In the 90 seconds of commands to Ward from Gillespie, there was no such warning. Ward's family believe that there should have been a warning on that fateful night.
"This was a young man who was desperately in need of help, not a bullet," Besser said. "But that's what an Ashtabula officer decided to give him instead."