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June 22nd, 2021 
Awake Goy
Recorded on police dash cam footage
running over a gunshot victim with her patrol vehicle, an Ohio police officer
has been placed on leave pending multiple investigations into the incident.
Around 11:15 p.m. on June 13, the
Springfield Police Department began receiving calls of a shooting on Center
Boulevard. Shortly after he had been shot by an unknown assailant, Eric Cole
called the police to request immediate assistance.
According to her police dash cam footage, Officer Amanda
Rosales arrived at the scene in a patrol SUV and had several seconds to observe
Cole lying in the street with blood staining his white shirt. A second officer
following Rosales’ vehicle also caught the moment on police dash cam video when
she drove over Cole’s body.
The officers reportedly attempted
to give Cole medical assistance before he was airlifted to a hospital. Shortly
after midnight on June 14, Cole was pronounced dead. The Montgomery County
Coroner’s Office will determine the cause
and manner of Cole’s death.
On June 16, Springfield Police
Chief Lee Graf gave a press conference explaining that Officer Rosales was
unable to see Cole’s body because she was looking for street signs and
addresses when she accidentally struck him with her vehicle. Chief Graf failed
to explain why Rosales neglected to look forward while driving forward for
several seconds.
“The lead officer was trying to
catch addresses on the house. Eric was lying in the street,” Graf stated. “This
was an accident. It doesn’t mean it’s OK. It was an accident. This was not an intentional
act on the part of the officer. I am sure of that.”
According to city officials, the
police have made no arrests in regards to Cole’s shooter. During the news
conference, Cole’s mother, Regina Wilson, recalled, “He said, ‘Your son has
just been shot.’ Never once was I told that an officer ran over my son. Why was
I not told at the scene that she ran over my son?”
In an incident report, the police
neglected to mention that the responding officer drove over the victim’s body
when arriving at the scene. Graf attempted to explain that the vehicular
accident is being investigated by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, while the
shooting remains under police investigation. Graf failed to explain why the
police incident report omitted the vehicular assault, which would be relevant
to specific conditions and injuries within the upcoming autopsy report.
Hired in January 2020, Rosales was
placed on paid leave Thursday pending multiple investigations into the
incident.
“I want the officer held
accountable just like if they get the suspect, they will hold him accountable,”
Wilson told Graf.
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