Ottawa Hills officer found guilty in biker shooting

Off the Wire
News - Biker Rights Issues

TOLEDO, OHIO -- A Lucas County jury has found an Ottawa Hills police officer guilty of felonious assault in the May 2009 shooting of a motorcyclist.

After over five hours of deliberations, a jury found that part-time Ottawa Hills officer Thomas Caine White, 27, used excessive force in shooting motorcyclist Michael McCloskey, 25, during a traffic stop on May 23, 2009. White was found guilty of count of felonious assault with a gun specification, charges that could lead to 11 years in prison when he is sentenced.

McCloskey suffered serious injuries as a result of the shooting. He is now paralyzed from the waist down.

Attorneys for each side made closing arguments Friday afternoon.

The prosecution emphasized that this trial was not about all police officers or a specific police department but about the actions of Officer White that night.

Assistant Lucas County Prosecutor Jeff Lingo told the court that slides of the police dash cam video show McCloskey made no movement as if he had a weapon and the he gave no indication of being a threat to White. "He says, 'Will you please lift the bike off me?' This is after he's been shot. He's still being police to the officer who just shot him in the back. That's the Mike McCloskey that he faced that night," said Lingo.

The defense argued that Officer Thomas White was acting appropriately and that he perceived McCloskey was a threat and had a weapon. Attorney Jerry Phillips told the jury that they needed to put themselves in White's shoes. "You must judge it under the quickly evolving circumstances that Officer White understood when he exited the vehicle after the entire event took place, after he had a service revolver out, after he gave an instruction to Mr. McCloskey and Mr. McCloskey turned a second time," said Phillips.

White took the stand in his own defense on Thursday, trying to convince the jury that he was justified in shooting McCloskey. He told the courtroom that he believed the biker was carrying a weapon at the time he was stopped. He said he fired one shot out of fear for his life.

On the stand Tuesday, McCloskey answered questions about what happened at the traffic stop near the intersection of Central Ave. and Indian Rd. He told the court he was trying to comply with the officer's orders. "I assumed he was saying, 'Put your hands in the air,' because that's the only thing that I didn't do to comply. I was in the process of putting the bike in neutral when he shot," said McCloskey.

The trial, which began Monday, featured numerous showings of a previously unseen police dash cam video, taken on the night of the incident.

View police dashcam video courtesy of the Toledo Blade. Please note that the video may contain material not suitable for all viewers.

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