Questions linger after man killed at St. Ann’s
Miles Jackson, 27, has been identified by police sources, friends and others as the suspect killed by officers during what police have called an “exchange of gunfire” Monday afternoon inside the emergency department at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s hospital in Westerville.
Westerville police had not formally identified Jackson, but multiple police sources confirmed to The Dispatch that Jackson, of the Northwest Side, is the suspect who was killed in the shootout. Social media posts from friends and family members of Jackson also identify him as the person killed.
Exactly what unfolded inside the St. Ann’s emergency department around 2:15 p.m. Monday afternoon remained unclear 24 hours later as Westerville police, Columbus police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation had issued no updates by late Tuesday afternoon.
The names of the officers who were involved have not yet been released by Westerville police or Columbus police. Westerville police have also not provided information as to whether Jackson was searched prior to being taken to the hospital.
The Dispatch reached out to Westerville police on Tuesday to ask questions regarding the department’s policy on searching people involved in medical emergencies and whether that policy was followed on Monday, but those questions were not answered.
Westerville police Chief Charles Chandler said Monday that officers had been called in the morning to a report of a man “passed out in a vehicle.” Officers called for paramedics, who transported the man to St. Ann’s for evaluation and treatment. Officers accompanied the ambulance to the hospital.
That man, now known to be Jackson, was found to have warrants out for his arrest related to pending charges of domestic violence, resisting arrest, falsification and assault in Franklin County Municipal Court, as well as a pending felony case on charges of possession of drugs and having weapons while under disability, meaning a person with a felony conviction who had possessed a firearm illegally.
Because the warrants were from Columbus’ jurisdiction, Columbus police were called to meet Westerville at the hospital to take custody of Jackson.
Chandler said that at 2:22 p.m. Monday, a radio call for an officer in trouble was aired from St. Ann’s. Moments later, shots were fired.
Chandler said two Columbus officers, four St. Ann’s safety and security personnel and at least one Westerville officer were in the room when the shots were fired.
The Dispatch has requested copies of body camera footage from Columbus and Westerville police officers who were present.
Chandler described the interaction as an “exchange of gunfire,” something that appeared to be confirmed by cellphone video provided to The Dispatch by a person who was present in the emergency department but asked not to be identified.
The video appears to have been shot from close to the floor and fixed on a hall between treatment areas in the emergency department. Police can be heard telling the suspect to put down a gun. Two distinct shots are then heard, followed immediately by a barrage of gunfire.
Chandler said that an “additional weapon” outside of the guns possessed by officers was recovered at the scene. The Columbus officers and at least one St. Ann’s officer fired their weapons, Chandler said.
No other injuries were reported in the shooting.
Jackson was taken immediately into a trauma bay inside the emergency room following the shooting but did not survive his injuries.
According to a video provided to The Dispatch by a woman who was inside the emergency room at the time, officers yelled multiple times for Jackson to put his hands up and show officers his hands.
The woman who took the cellphone video said she believed first responders saved lives in the emergency department and wanted the public to know what happened inside the hospital.
A Mount Carmel spokesperson told
The Dispatch in an email that there is a “full-time security presence” in the emergency department at all times. The hospital system did not disclose how many officers are specifically assigned to St. Ann’s but said there are 100 security officers across all of Mount Carmel’s campuses.
The hospital’s communications team said all security officers are certified through the state as peace officers to carry firearms and undergo annual training.
The spokesperson would not identify the officers involved on Monday, citing “our colleagues’ privacy and because this is an ongoing investigation.”
Chandler called the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation in to lead the investigation into the shooting.
On Monday night, Attorney General Dave Yost, whose office oversees BCI, issued a statement urging the public to allow facts to come out before rushing to judgment.
“In the early hours of this investigation, it is not clear what occurred. I appeal to everyone to let us gather the facts and complete the record,” Yost said in a prepared statement. “That cannot happen overnight. An investigation like this takes an average of 400 hours.
“We will find the truth, and we will fully reveal it.”
Protesters did gather near the hospital at the corner of South Cleveland Avenue and West Shrock Road on Monday night.
Elizabeth Blackburn, an activist on Twitter, and others organized an “Emergency Call to Action” for protesters to gather Monday night “to mourn a life lost and stand against killer cops.”
About 40 to 50 people had gathered at the intersection to protest the fatal shooting. A group of those people later marched to the hospital and stood outside for a time
Another protest was scheduled to take place Tuesday night, starting at Mayme Moore Park on the 800 block of Mount Vernon Avenue and ending outside Columbus police headquarters Downtown. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner