Columbus police are looking for a car that struck a Riverside Methodist Hospital security guard on Thursday night that then was fired on by the guard.
The guard, who police have identified as Chad Rosser, 39, was responding to a report of a suspicious person at the emergency entrance of the McConnell Heart Hospital just before 11 p.m.
A black Cadillac tried to run him down when he went outside, according to a news release from OhioHealth.
Rosser shot at the car after being struck. He was treated for minor injuries.
Rosser is a former part-time Clinton Township police officer who completed standard law-enforcement training and performed well in the job, said Clinton Township Lt. Anthony Pfeiffer. He left, in part, because of the position at Riverside, Pfeiffer said.
Riverside calls its security guards "officers," but they do not have the same status as law-enforcement officers, said Mark Hopkins, a spokesman for OhioHealth.
Armed Riverside guards have completed the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy's 640-hour program, the same one required for any police officer, Hopkins said.
State law allows security guards who have completed peace-officer training to carry firearms, said Lindsey Bohrer of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
They must follow the same rules as armed civilians, said Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien. They can use deadly force if in danger of serious physical harm.
Columbus police are investigating the incident as an assault on Rosser, said Sgt. Christine Nemchev, a spokeswoman.
The car had an Arkansas plate, number 356-RIW. Anyone with information should call police at 614-645-4165.
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