WESTERVILLE, Ohio — A theft call from the Meijer grocery store in Westerville escalated quickly Sunday night when the man the officer was trying to arrest didn’t comply with his orders.
Meijer employees called police after a man, later identified as Ernest Fields, walked out of the store with Pokémon cards totaling nearly $700.
Fields did not comply with the arresting officers commands to get out of his car. The officer’s body camera video shows Fields being pulled from the car and told to put his hands behind his back.
The officer’s case report reads that Fields turned around on the officer and the officer thought Fields was going to hit him, so he delivered a couple quick hits to Fields who then tried to run away.
The officer pulled his stun gun. Fields dropped to the ground before trying to run again.
The officer managed to catch Fields, deliver a couple more hits to the man and hold him on the ground until other Westerville officers arrived. Fields continued to resist arrest and officers deployed a stun gun another time before he was arrested.
The whole incident lasted around five minutes from the time the first officer made contact with Fields until he was arrested.
Brian Steel, acting president of the local Fraternal Order of Police, said the first officer was alone and that can be scary when things don’t go to plan.
“That officer is by himself. There is a weapon involved; there always is with the officer’s weapon. He already has someone who has shown every indication that he wants to harm him and now the fight is on to control him,” said Steel.
He said while he saw the arresting officer behaving within his training, there still will be an investigation into the matter to determine if the officer was acting in the right.
“They have policies in place. They will review the incident in its entirety. If there was wrongdoing, the officer will be held accountable. If the officer was found to be within policy, we will make that known,” said Steel.
Westerville Chief of Police Charles Chandler released a statement Tuesday afternoon on the incident.
“The actions in this case will be thoroughly investigated to ensure compliance with the policies, training and expectations that WPD has for every one of our officers,” part of the statement read. “I want to emphasize our mission is to protect our community's safety and uphold the highest standards of performance. As Chief, it is my responsibility to ensure we meet these high standards in everything we do, in service to both the men and women of this agency and the trust of the City of Westerville.”
Officers also found what appeared to be drugs and other stolen items in his car. The case report written by one of the officers said Fields admitted to using fentanyl and using it that day.
Fields was also wanted on a felony warrant out of Franklin County for arson.
Fields was scheduled to make his initial appearance in Delaware County court for his arrest, but the hearing was postponed and a new date hasn’t been set.