COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus man is among three suspects charged in connection to a pursuit on Thursday that ended with the death of a northwest Ohio police officer.
Zachary Love, 21, is charged with receiving stolen property and failure to comply in connection to the incident that killed Bluffton Police Officer Dominic Francis. Court documents obtained by 10TV show Love is from the east side of Columbus, near the Pickerington area.
Love and two other suspects, 20-year-old Emin Johnson and 19-year-old Dante Tate, were driving at what Ohio State Highway Patrol officials said was a high rate of speed when troopers tried to stop them on US Route 23 early Thursday morning.
A police pursuit ensued, at times reaching 120 miles per hour as the Love, Johnson and Tate attempted to flee.
According to OSHP, Officer Francis was attempting to deploy stop strips on Interstate 75 near exit 142 when he was fatally struck by the suspects’ car.
The three were ultimately taken into custody.
Johnson is charged with involuntary manslaughter and Tate is charged with receiving stolen property and failure to comply, WTOL reports.
Johnson and Love are currently both being held at the Hancock County Justice Center, while Tate is held at the Medina County Jail.
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the chase is ongoing.