ELYRIA, Ohio — Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson has cleared two members of the U.S. Marshals' Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) of using either excessive or unreasonable force in the death of Derrick Smith during the serving of a warrant in April.
In a nine-page brief, Tomlinson said that the officer who shot Smith, LaGrange police officer Wayne Ramsey, "acted according to his training."
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"Had Ramsey not shot Smith when he did, he and other officers could have been killed," Tomlinson noted.
BACKGROUND OF THE CASE
On April 18, the Lorain County unit of the NOVFTF was serving a warrant for Smith's arrest in the 900 block of West 21st Street after he failed to appear in federal count for a probation violation hearing.
Task force members were told in advance that Smith was identified as "a violent offender or a serious threat to law enforcement officers." Specifically, Smith was suffering from "severe mental illness, having been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder." Smith was also known to abuse illegal drugs and had cocaine in his system on the day the NOVFTF came to arrest him, Tomlinson stated.
In his brief, Tomlinson said Deputy U.S. Marshal Nathan Lupica tried several times to verbally coax Smith out of his upstairs bedroom along with members of the Smith family. Smith refused to come out. As Lupica was preparing to lead task force officers into Smith's room, he tried again to get the suspect's cooperation, telling him his only charge would be a simple probation violation. Smith again refused to open his door.
As Lupica opened the door part way, Smith threw something in his direction, striking the deputy marshal in the face. Task force members noticed that Smith was armed with what appeared to be a baseball bat, but was later found to be a table leg.
On their second attempt to open the door, Tomlinson reports that Smith attacked Lupica with a knife and stabbed him several times. Lupica and Ramsay both tried to subdue Smith by using their tasers, but were unsuccessful. After Lupica fell, Smith swung the table leg at Ramsay and injured his right arm. Ramsay finally drew his gun and fired at Smith, striking him eight times. Smith later died from his wounds.
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A portion of the bodycam footage can be watched below:
"Specifically, at the time Derrick Smith was shot by Task Force Officer Ramsey, Smith had repeatedly stabbed and seriously wounded Deputy Marshal Lupica and had viciously attacked Ramsey, striking and injuring him with a table leg. With Deputy Marshal Lupica severely injured and with Smith's anger trained on Ramsey, had Ramsey not shot Smith when he did, he and other officers could have been killed. In doing so, Ramsey acted according to his training," Tomlinson said in his brief.
"The issue that has been presented to me for determination is whether Deputy Marshal Nathan Lupica or Task Forte Officer Wayne Ramsey, used excessive or unreasonable force in either attempting to effect the arrest of, or in shooting and killing Derrick Smith on April 18, 2024.
"I find that they did not."
