CALCUTTA — “A tragedy on many levels.” That’s how St. Clair Township Police Chief Brian McKenzie described body cam footage captured by officers responding to the Jan. 22 shooting in St. Clair Township that left one of those officers critically wounded and a 4-year-old girl and a suicidal man dead. 

The footage released Tuesday shows how the events began and what happened in the chaotic moments after law enforcement confronted Joseph Como, 30, of Wellsville, on St. Clair Avenue in front of Huntington Bank and Dentistry for Children and Teens just after 2 p.m. Como was shot and killed by police at the scene. St. Clair Township officer Dakota Wetzel, also 30, and Rosalie Martin were both shot in the head. Wetzel is recovering at a Pittsburgh hospital, but Martin, who was inside the dentist office, died.

“Since this tragic event happened on Jan. 22, I’ve tried to be as 

transparent as I can with the community,” McKenzie said in a recorded video message posted to his department’s Facebook page. “The public has the right to know what happened.  Initial information gathered at the chaotic scene was released. Previously, we released the incident reports and the 9-1-1 recordings from the day.”

The body cam footage of Wetzel, St. Clair Detective Chase Askounes and patrolman Tony Savina  shows the tragedy unfolded quickly but conflict with initial reports that stated that it was Como that “immediately opened fire” and that  officers “returned fire.” While there are still details that remain unanswered, the footage makes clear it was law enforcement who fired the first shots, shooting at Como with the dentist  office behind him. Como appears to fire possibly one shot in the other direction. 

The released footage begins with Como seen on Wetzel’s body camera walking on St. Clair Avenue when he is approached by Wetzel, who had just exited a police vehicle being driven by Askounes. The vehicle is parked on the access road between the bank and Care Funeral Home facing the dentist’s office. Askounes shouts to Como “Hey Joey, can you come here for a minute?” before getting back in the cruiser and driving toward Como. Wetzel, still outside, makes contact with Como and the two begin walking toward each —  Como toward the access road and Wetzel toward St. Clair Avenue. Wetzel asks Como, who appears to pull an item from under his shirt with his right hand, to stop several times — at this point Wetzel’s gun is raised and trained on Como. Wetzel then asks repeatedly “let me see your hand.” Como can be heard saying “No” before Wetzel fires his gun. 

Como seems to be struck with three bullets before spinning around and diving into the snow in front of the bank sign as Wetzel fires two more rounds. Como raises his hand as he dives, seemingly pointing an object at Wetzel, before hitting the ground on his stomach. Almost simultaneously, Wetzel too falls, landing on his back. 

From Askounes’ camera it becomes apparent that Wetzel has been shot. Askounes says “shots fired” before firing off approximately 12 shots. Savina can be heard saying “OK, OK,” to Askounes who stops shooting and shouts “We need a medic now!”

The redacted footage is blurred where Wetzel is sprawled on the access road. Fellow officers drag him to safety. The rest of Askounes body cam is blacked out with just audio — Ohio state law prohibits releasing footage of injured officers — as he tends to Wetzel for eight minutes. Wetzel is then loaded into an ambulance. It is at this point in the video, Askounes says “we have a 4-year-old shot in the head, send as many ambulances as you have.”

Savina’s body cam footage begins just as Askounes, standing in the funeral home parking lot, is shooting parallel with St. Clair towards where Como is crumpled.  Savina approaches Como as East Liverpool Patrolman Justin Watkins handcuffs Como and both perform first aid. Como is rolled over where a lighter is found in his left hand, nothing in his right and a hunting knife under his shirt. Como’s shirt is cut off and five gunshot wounds are located — two  in his neck, two in his torso and one in the shoulder. 

Law enforcement do not find a firearm on or near Como. All footage ends without the discovery of Como’s gun. 

McKenzie said that while the released footage “can give some information, there are other pieces of evidence that we simply don’t  have at this time.” 

McKenzie also said that the Ohio State Highway Patrol is now handling the investigation and is unclear why the Ohio Bureau of Criminal  Investigation (BCI), who was initially called in, stepped away. 

McKenzie said the investigation remains ongoing and said officers are trained to use deadly force to stop threats to themselves and others. 

“The investigation will involve interviews, forensics evidence and reconstruction of the scene. Those things will go a long way in answering things, I simply cannot answer,” he said. “While I cannot make any conclusions until after the investigation is complete, I can tell you my police officers and other police officers around the country are trained. Officers are trained to deploy deadly force when a suspect pulls a gun.”

McKenzie reiterated that deadly force is never taken lightly but sometimes necessary.

“No police officers want to be forced to use deadly force,” he said. “However, officers faced with suspects ready to use deadly force must make split-second decisions to protect their own lives.”

Officers initially responded to the scene when dispatch received reports of a potentially suicidal man in the area of on St. Clair. After the shooting it was learned that Como had a history of mental illness including schizophrenia and a history of violent outbursts. He had several run-ins with St. Clair Township Police including an incident in the exact area in 2015 when he made threats of harming himself. He was charged with inducing panic and aggravated menacing and was ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation, After months at an inpatient mental facility he was declared competent to stand trial. Como was fined $200 plus costs and sentenced to 180 days in jail with 94 suspended. He eventually was transferred to unsupervised probation on Oct. 5, 2017, according to Columbiana County’s online case docket. 

Como was also charged with domestic violence after he allegedly assaulted his parents last December in Wellsville, but a warrant was never served.