BLUFFTON — Flags are being lowered to half-staff in Columbus and in northwest Ohio in honor of a Bluffton police officer killed during a high-speed chase Thursday.
Officer Dominic Francis was struck by a fleeing car while setting up a roadblock on I-75 during a pursuit that reached speeds up to 120 mph, authorities said.
Francis, 42, had been an officer in Bluffton the past nine years.
Three suspects have been arrested.
Governor Mike DeWine has ordered that U.S. and Ohio flags be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Allen and Hancock counties, as well as at the Statehouse, the Vern Riffe Center, and the Rhodes State Office Tower in downtown Columbus. Flags shall remain lowered until sunset on the day of Francis’s funeral.
“A hero has died and a community is shaken. The bravery of the men and women that wear the badge is astounding. Officer Francis’ valor will live on and never be forgotten.” – Attorney General Dave Yost
The incident began at approximately 2:00 a.m. when troopers from the Marion Patrol Post observed a black Infiniti dark-colored sedan traveling northbound at a high rate of speed on U.S. Route 23 but were unable to make contact with the vehicle, patrol spokesman Sgt. Brice A. Nihiser said.
The suspect vehicle took state Route 15 to I-75 southbound at approximately 2:20 a.m. and struck Francis as he was deploying stop sticks near exit 142 at 2:30 a.m., Nihiser said.
The suspects drove a short distance before they jumped out and ran from the scene.
One was found nearby while a second stole a Toyota Prius from a home in Hancock County and was arrested after a traffic stop in Elyria at about 8:15 a.m. after a pursuit that began on I-71 in Medina County, Nihiser said.
A third suspect was taken into custody at 1:49 p.m. Thursday afternoon.