Officers won’t be charged in fatal shooting

No charges will be filed against two Elyria police officers in connection with an officer-involved shooting in July of 2019 that led to the death of an Elyria man, the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office announced this week.

The July 2, 2019, incident in the vicinity of a Carlisle Township gas station at around 4 p.m. resulted in the death of 39-year-old Elyria resident Isaiah Robinson and injuries to Damon Battles, now 40, also of Elyria.

Following an investigation by the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office the report was forwarded for review by the Prosecutor’s Office.

On Aug. 25 a Lorain County grand jury found that the actions taken by Elyria police officers were a justified use of force under the law and declined to file charges.

The Prosecutor’s Office will be releasing all public records related to the incident in conjunction with the announcement.

Police were called to the scene when two black males in a black Chevrolet Malibu reportedly fired two shots into the air after beating on a window at an apartment complex in the 100 block of Park Meadow Lane in Elyria, according to scanner traffic recordings released by the Sheriff’s Office.

The recordings revealed one of the men brandished a firearm and was shot by officers.

An investigation by the Sheriff’s Office said a semiautomatic gun was found in the vehicle.

On July 1, 2020, Battles and the estate of Isaiah Robinson filed a lawsuit in Lorain County Common Pleas Court naming Elyria police officers Alan Kubas and Charles McArthur as defendants and seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for negligence, wrongful death, assault and battery, and survivorship action.

The lawsuit alleged

Elyria police orchestrated a “reckless and dangerous standoff” and Robinson died after officers fired several times into the vehicle after Battles attempted to exit the car with his hands up.

Robinson, the suit alleges, died after his wounds were left unattended to for about five minutes.

The filing says neither man posed a threat to officers.

Battles was hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds to his hip, leg and side, according to the filing.