Officer, slain suspect in standoff identified

AKRON — Authorities identified the officer shot during a SWAT standoff and the man who wounded him and was then killed.

The Akron Beacon Journal reported that 36-year-old Brandon Watson, a 12-year veteran of the Barberton Police Department and a member of an area SWAT team, is in stable condition after surgery at an Akron hospital. He was shot in both legs early Friday in New Franklin.

A medical examiner has identified the suspect as 49-year-old Charles Cook.

Authorities say New Franklin officers were sent to a duplex around 7 p.m. Thursday on a domestic-violence call and found Cook barricaded inside a bedroom, prompting the SWAT team to respond.

Police say Cook fired rounds through the bedroom door eight hours later, wounding Watson.