Sniper disables tractor-trailer to end chase

CINCNNATI — A semi tractor-trailer pursuit that lasted nearly three hours in southwest Ohio on Saturday ended after a police sniper shot and disabled the truck’s engine on a normally busy interstate highway, officials said.

The driver is in custody, although Cincinnati Assistant Chief Paul Neudigate said charges are yet to be determined. Police believe the man is from out of state and may have an active aggravated assault warrant from Georgia.

"I haven’t seen anything like this in 30 plus years of policing," Neudigate said.

Sgt. Nathan Dennis with the Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed the pursuit began at 12:54 p.m. Saturday. According to Cincinnati Police, the driver was in custody as of 3:46 p.m. and required treatment from medics at the scene on Interstate 275.

Reports of a reckless driver started in Butler County around 1 p.m., officials said. When officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the tractor-trailer fled toward Cincinnati.

Neudigate said officers soon became aware that the driver's wife was being held hostage in the vehicle. The driver was potentially armed with a knife or firearm and threatened to harm his wife. Police believe Saturday's incident initially began as a domestic violence incident.

The driver's wife was ultimately released and taken to the hospital, Neudigate said. She possibly suffered a broken leg.

The driver threatened to shoot at police multiple times during the pursuit, Neudigate said, adding that the driver swerved at police who deployed stop sticks to deflate the truck's tires.

Around 3 p.m., the driver unhooked the trailer from the truck near the Kellogg Avenue exit. Multiple police cruisers and a SWAT team continued the pursuit. Neudigate said the man drove in reverse at 50 mph to 60 mph multiple times toward police officers.

The man then headed the wrong way on eastbound I-275, toward the Route 52 interchange.

Neudigate said a Cincinnati SWAT sniper used a .50 caliber rifle to shoot and disable the semi's engine. The sniper shot the truck after the woman was released and the highway had been closed.

The driver then held himself at knifepoint when police approached, Neudigate said, and would not deescalate. The man was arrested after he was shot with a Taser and foam baton.

He suffered minor injuries and was treated at and released from University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Neudigate said.

“He would’ve killed somebody," Neudigate said. "Let me make this clear. Had it not been shut down, had we not got involved — the way he was recklessly driving a 5,000-, 10,000-pound vehicle — somebody would have been dead today.”

Neudigate said the incident was "a perfect example" as to why law enforcement requires certain training and tools.

Cincinnati police, the Ohio Highway Patrol and Hamilton County deputies were all involved in the chase.

Officers are not sure how the man obtained the semi, and the investigation is ongoing.

The highway was reopened to traffic Saturday evening.