ASHTABULA, Ohio — The estate of a 23-year-old man who was killed by Ashtabula police one year ago has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, claiming an officer with the department used excessive force when he shot the subject from almost 500 feet away with a sniper rifle.
David L. Ward Jr. died in the early morning hours of April 13, 2022, following an encounter with authorities on the Spring Street bridge. Officials had said Ward was suicidal and holding a shotgun which officers had told him to put down, but claimed he "was shot as he approached officers and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter."
However, the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Count paints a somewhat different picture, and cites a similar incident in the officer's past that also led to legal action.
According to the complaint filed by Cleveland-based law firm Bolek Besser Glesiuis, Ward first called 911 just after midnight and expressed suicidal thoughts, and officers arrived at the bridge not long after. As part of the formation, Lieutenant Daniel Gillespie positioned himself in a tactical position at the end of the bridge, 482 feet from the scene and allegedly out of Ward's sight.
Gillespie aimed his .308 sniper rifle at Ward, and his supervisor informed him Ward was threatening to "shoot the first cop he sees" with his shotgun. However, another officer allegedly later clarified that Ward was drunk and "wanted suicide by cop," and another expressed doubt that Ward's weapon was even loaded since no shell casings came out when Ward cocked it.
As police continued to speak with Ward via cellphone and Gillespie watched from a distance, Ward apparently put the gun down "multiple times" and even smoked a cigarette on occasion. Gillespie was told to get his less lethal "bean bag gun," and at one point he was told Ward had "set [his] gun down for now."
As Ward walked toward Gillespie and other officers, Gillespie yelled for him to drop the gun and later "walk away from the gun," but the suit says its "unclear" if Ward even heard him. At 1:25 a.m., Gillespie shot Ward in the chest with his rifle (not the bean bag gun), and later admitted Ward was not pointing his weapon at officers at the time. He would later tell the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Ward was holding his shotgun with his "left hand on the barrel," but attorneys say that's impossible.
"Ward was not holding the shotgun in both hands," the filing reads, adding Ward had his cellphone in his right hand and another officer testified he was speaking to Ward up to the moment he was shot. "If he was holding the gun at all, it was only in one hand, which was away from the trigger."
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 reads. "Gillespie's use of deadly force against Ward was objectively unreasonable and excessive."
Gillespie later admitted Ward had "the whole bridge to himself" with no officers physically close to him when he was shot, and when asked by BCI if there were other options besides shooting Ward he apparently remarked, "everyone's been griping about de-escalation" and believed he felt he had waited long enough before firing. Gillespie was not disciplined for the incident and no criminal charges have been filed.
This is not the first time Gillespie has been accused of using excessive force: Back in 2017, he 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 at bay when he was shot. Hester was left paralyzed and later filed a civil rights lawsuit, which was settled out of court in 2019.
"The Ashtabula police department has a history of officers engaging in excessive force, including by shooting people preemptively who are not pointing a gun at anyone," the lawsuit said of the actions of both Gillespie and others. "Based on the foregoing, the City of Ashtabula and its police department have a policy or custom of tolerating, permitting, acquiescing in, encouraging, or engaging in excessive force in violation of the Constitution."
Besides Gillespie, the complaint also names Police Chief Robert Stell, whom attorneys claim has never disciplined an officer for excessive force during his 16-year tenure. The suit seeks financial compensation for Ward's parents as well as adequate punishment for Gillespie.