Watch Ohio Officer Struggle with Suspect who Tried to Grab Gun

Dec. 20, 2021
Body camera footage captured a suspect trying to take a Northfield police officer's service weapon while the man was fleeing the scene of a bank robbery in Macedonia.

Source Akron Beacon Journal

Dramatic police video of the arrest of two Massillon men following a bank robbery in Macedonia last week shows one suspect apparently reaching for an officer's sidearm during a struggle, then breaking free and grabbing a woman.

News 5 Cleveland reported the incident happened after Key Bank on East Aurora Road in Macedonia was robbed Dec. 10 and Northfield police caught up with the suspects at the MGM Grand on state Route 8 on the Cuyahoga County border.

Police said one suspect entered the bank wearing a hat and a mask, displayed a note, demanded money with "no trackers" and was seen leaving in a black Dodge Ram.

Northfield officer Mike Bonfield saw the vehicle and followed it to the casino parking lot, where two men got out and ran, one dropping a pile of cash in the parking lot as he fled.

"When I saw it, I knew this was it. It was our bank robbers," Bonfield told News 5.

Bonfield chased and caught up with the passenger, 60-year-old Brian Spenny of Massillon. During the ensuing struggle, caught on video, Spenny appears to be reaching for Bonfield's sidearm. He then breaks free, runs a short distance and appears to grab a woman who had just gotten out of a car.

Bonfield said he lunged at Spenny, pried his hands off the woman and a witness stepped in to help take Spenny to the ground. Bonfield suffered minor injuries to his elbow.

Spenny is charged with aggravated robbery, kidnapping, assault on a police officer, and resisting arrest.

Another Northfield officer, Tony Pistone, found the driver, 46-year-old John Dampman, also of Massillon, within the next 30 minutes hiding under a deck attached to a home on Filly Lane, just across Route 8.

Pistone's body camera captured the officer yelling, "Show me your hands! Show me your hands! Do not move! Do not move!"

Dampman is charged with complicity to robbery and obstructing official business.

_____

©2021 www.beaconjournal.com.

Visit beaconjournal.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Sponsored Recommendations

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Officer, create an account today!