BEDFORD, Ohio — Bedford Police are still investigating the deadly shooting of a 43-year-old man by a police officer in the Cleveland suburb.
Investigators say the incident began after 2 a.m. Friday, when the live-in girlfriend of John Hebebrand called 911 to report a domestic disturbance at their home in the 600 block of Archer Road.
She told the dispatcher, “my boyfriend came home drunk and he’s destroying the whole living room, I need police here now.”
When Bedford police responded to the home, Hebebrand’s girlfriend told them that he might be armed with a weapon. When the officers encountered Hebebrand on the back porch, he refused to comply with their commands, according to Chief Kris Nietert.
“The male would not acknowledge the fact that a weapon was present, but kept making reaching motions behind his back, officers advised him to stop making the motions, he continued,” said Nietert .
Relatives of Hebebrand’s girlfriend say police had been called to the home in the past, and were able to reason with Hebebrand and get him to calm down.
But Friday, investigators say that when Hebebrand refused to comply, officers deployed their tasers, and that’s when he pulled out a weapon.
“While being tased, the male was able to reach behind his back and brandish a large knife, and make advances toward the officers. In the process of making those advances, officers shot at the male”, said Nietert.
After being hit by the gunfire, Hebebrand was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Relatives of John Hebebrand’s girlfriend say she wishes police had been able to reason with him as they had in the past, but they acknowledge it was Hebebrand who set into motion the events that led to his death.
Brittany Wilson is the daughter of Hebebrand’s girlfriend.
“I mean of course you don’t lunge at a cop, I mean with a weapon, if it did happen, you don’t do that, so I mean with everybody’s actions, comes with reactions, it’s sad,” she said.
Police say four officers responded to the call, but only one fired his weapon. Authorities say he is on his scheduled days off, pending the outcome of the investigation.
According to records from the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts, John Hebebrand was accused of assault on a police officer in 2001, but an online docket indicated the case ended with a “no bill”.
According to Bedford Municipal Court documents, Hebebrand has been convicted of several crimes ranging from assault and criminal damaging to disorderly conduct and DUI.
