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Search warrant says two rounds recovered 4 inches into ground
By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 06:39 p.m. EDT, Jul 17, 2008
Twinsburg police officer Joshua Miktarian had just radioed a license number to a dispatcher during a traffic stop Sunday morning.
Ninety seconds later at 1:56 a.m. Miktarian radioed that he needed something else:
''Radio, uh, send Reminderville up here, I need another unit,'' Miktarian calmly said over the radio.
They were the officer's last recorded words.
The vanity license plate Miktarian radioed in was ''ITNL.'' It is registered to Ashford Thompson, the man accused of killing the officer.
Miktarian wore badge No. 45.
''45, what do you have?'' fellow officer Patrick Quinn radioed.
''45, you OK?'' officer David Fenske called out over his radio.
Only silence.
At 2:01, Quinn radios in.
''Radio, there is a dark object on the ground next to his cruiser. I can't tell what it is.''
Seconds later, Miktarian was found. ''Officer down, officer down, officer down,'' an officer yelled to the dispatcher.
Police on Wednesday released recordings made in the moments before Miktarian, 33, was shot four times in the head at close range.
A search warrant filed by deputies with Summit County Clerk of Courts Daniel Horrigan revealed that investigators at the scene had to dig 4 inches into the ground to remove two spent rounds fired from a 9 mm Luger pistol.
The deep location of the bullets indicate a downward, direct shooting, as if fired at close range while the officer was on the ground, authorities said. In addition, four bullet casings were recovered at the scene, police said.
One spent round was recovered from Miktarian's body during an autopsy. Police said there were also ''three distinct exit wounds.''
Miktarian apparently never heard from radio dispatchers that the driver he was stopping was registered to carry a gun. He did not check his own cruiser computer, Twinsburg officer Tom Austin told reporters Wednesday.
Thompson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder. Police said they believe he might have been drunk, and angry after being pulled over by Miktarian as he was arriving at his Glenwood Drive home.
Police said the 9 mm Luger used to kill Miktarian was recovered from the Bedford Heights home where Thompson was arrested about an hour after the shooting.
Thompson's maroon 1998 Dodge Intrepid was seized for forensic testing.
Thompson surrendered without incident with Miktarian's handcuffs still attached to his right wrist, police said. His clothes were splattered in blood, a source close to the investigation said. Thompson's girlfriend, who was in his car during the shooting, was questioned and released.
The recordings of the police radio traffic cover the eight minutes around the time Miktarian was killed. They shed little light on what transpired between Thompson and the officer.
A neighbor called police seconds after Miktarian's radio call to report shouting and possible gunfire. Police are trying to locate the recording of that call. The call was not made to 911, but rather to the police department line.
Thompson's attorney has said that Thompson acted in self-defense. The Twinsburg prosecutor called the notion ''laughable.''
Miktarian's gun was still holstered when he was flown to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.
Austin said it appears, based on standard procedure, that Miktarian was in his cruiser when he made his radio calls. It is likely that Miktarian got out of his cruiser, struggled to handcuff Thompson's wrist and was then shot before he was able to restrain
Thompson and search him for weapons, Austin said.
Thompson had a state license to carry a gun.
''Just because you have a right to carry a gun, it doesn't give you the right to slaughter somebody,'' Austin said.
Police played the recording in private Wednesday afternoon for Miktarian's mother, Minda Barlow of Quebeck, Tenn. Afterward, she told reporters that her family is devastated by the killing.
She said she has no opinion on Thompson's claim of self-defense.
''I have no feelings at all for the murderer,'' she said. ''I have no feelings for him at all. All I know is my baby's gone and his baby doesn't have a father.''
Miktarian was married and the father of a 3-month-old girl.
''It's difficult,'' Twinsburg Police Chief Christopher Noga said after reporters and police listened to the audio recording. ''It is difficult to hear that knowing what the end result was. I don't know if it will ever get easier knowing that was some of the last words my friend ever spoke.''
Miktarian's police dog partner of six years, Bagio, was in the cruiser, unharmed by the shooting. Holly Miktarian, the officer's widow, has the dog at her home.
Noga said Bagio will be retired from duty and police will ask City Council to transfer ownership to the officer's family.
Police officers across the state are preparing for Miktarian's funeral, scheduled for Friday at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Oakwood. Burial will be at Crown Hill Cemetery in Twinsburg.
Visitors may call from 1-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. today at Donovan Funeral Home in Tallmadge.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.
Twinsburg police officer Joshua Miktarian had just radioed a license number to a dispatcher during a traffic stop Sunday morning.
Ninety seconds later at 1:56 a.m. Miktarian radioed that he needed something else:
''Radio, uh, send Reminderville up here, I need another unit,'' Miktarian calmly said over the radio.
They were the officer's last recorded words.
The vanity license plate Miktarian radioed in was ''ITNL.'' It is registered to Ashford Thompson, the man accused of killing the officer.
Miktarian wore badge No. 45.
''45, what do you have?'' fellow officer Patrick Quinn radioed.
''45, you OK?'' officer David Fenske called out over his radio.
Only silence.
At 2:01, Quinn radios in.
''Radio, there is a dark object on the ground next to his cruiser. I can't tell what it is.''
Seconds later, Miktarian was found. ''Officer down, officer down, officer down,'' an officer yelled to the dispatcher.
Police on Wednesday released recordings made in the moments before Miktarian, 33, was shot four times in the head at close range.
A search warrant filed by deputies with Summit County Clerk of Courts Daniel Horrigan revealed that investigators at the scene had to dig 4 inches into the ground to remove two spent rounds fired from a 9 mm Luger pistol.
The deep location of the bullets indicate a downward, direct shooting, as if fired at close range while the officer was on the ground, authorities said. In addition, four bullet casings were recovered at the scene, police said.
One spent round was recovered from Miktarian's body during an autopsy. Police said there were also ''three distinct exit wounds.''
Miktarian apparently never heard from radio dispatchers that the driver he was stopping was registered to carry a gun. He did not check his own cruiser computer, Twinsburg officer Tom Austin told reporters Wednesday.
Thompson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder. Police said they believe he might have been drunk, and angry after being pulled over by Miktarian as he was arriving at his Glenwood Drive home.
Police said the 9 mm Luger used to kill Miktarian was recovered from the Bedford Heights home where Thompson was arrested about an hour after the shooting.
Thompson's maroon 1998 Dodge Intrepid was seized for forensic testing.
Thompson surrendered without incident with Miktarian's handcuffs still attached to his right wrist, police said. His clothes were splattered in blood, a source close to the investigation said. Thompson's girlfriend, who was in his car during the shooting, was questioned and released.
The recordings of the police radio traffic cover the eight minutes around the time Miktarian was killed. They shed little light on what transpired between Thompson and the officer.
A neighbor called police seconds after Miktarian's radio call to report shouting and possible gunfire. Police are trying to locate the recording of that call. The call was not made to 911, but rather to the police department line.
Thompson's attorney has said that Thompson acted in self-defense. The Twinsburg prosecutor called the notion ''laughable.''
Miktarian's gun was still holstered when he was flown to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.
Austin said it appears, based on standard procedure, that Miktarian was in his cruiser when he made his radio calls. It is likely that Miktarian got out of his cruiser, struggled to handcuff Thompson's wrist and was then shot before he was able to restrain
Thompson and search him for weapons, Austin said.
Thompson had a state license to carry a gun.
''Just because you have a right to carry a gun, it doesn't give you the right to slaughter somebody,'' Austin said.
Police played the recording in private Wednesday afternoon for Miktarian's mother, Minda Barlow of Quebeck, Tenn. Afterward, she told reporters that her family is devastated by the killing.
She said she has no opinion on Thompson's claim of self-defense.
''I have no feelings at all for the murderer,'' she said. ''I have no feelings for him at all. All I know is my baby's gone and his baby doesn't have a father.''
Miktarian was married and the father of a 3-month-old girl.
''It's difficult,'' Twinsburg Police Chief Christopher Noga said after reporters and police listened to the audio recording. ''It is difficult to hear that knowing what the end result was. I don't know if it will ever get easier knowing that was some of the last words my friend ever spoke.''
Miktarian's police dog partner of six years, Bagio, was in the cruiser, unharmed by the shooting. Holly Miktarian, the officer's widow, has the dog at her home.
Noga said Bagio will be retired from duty and police will ask City Council to transfer ownership to the officer's family.
Police officers across the state are preparing for Miktarian's funeral, scheduled for Friday at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Oakwood. Burial will be at Crown Hill Cemetery in Twinsburg.
Visitors may call from 1-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. today at Donovan Funeral Home in Tallmadge.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.
