COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Ross County deputy is back home after being released the hospital nearly a month after he was injured in a shooting outside the sheriff’s office.
Sgt. Eric Kocheran left Grant Medical Center Wednesday morning. Law enforcement agencies from around the area escorted Kocheran back to Chillicothe.
Surveillance and body camera video released by the sheriff’s office showed what transpired between Kocheran and 42-year-old Nicolas Mitchell on Nov. 17.
The video shows Mitchell walking around the building around 5 p.m. and approaching a door on the back side before he knocks on a full-length window.
Mitchell then paces around the parking lot before Kocheran opens the door.
In Kocheran's body camera video, Mitchell asks for help and for Kocheran to get a couple more officers.
When asked why, Mitchell says somebody said they're going to hurt his family and they wanted him to hurt kids. He then says he can't do that, so he “has to do this” and pulls out a gun.
Kocheran responds by telling Mitchell multiple times to put the weapon down as he draws his gun.
Mitchell then fires a shot and Kocheran returns fire through the open door from inside the building. Multiple shots were fired before Mitchell falls to the ground.
Kocheran was transported to Grant Medical Center in Columbus in serious condition. Mitchell was taken to a hospital in the Chillicothe area and died from his injuries.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the incident at the request of Ross County Sheriff George Lavender.