COLUMBUS – A Columbus SWAT officer wounded during a standoff with an arson suspect on the North Side over the weekend remained in critical condition late Sunday night, police said.
The officer, whose name has not been released, was shot by a man who had barricaded himself inside an apartment on W. California Avenue when SWAT officers attempted to serve a felony arrest warrant on an aggravated arson charge at approximately 11:34 p.m. Saturday, police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the officer’s family as he fights to recover. I also offer my gratitude to the first responders and to all of our police and fire fighters for their continued work for this great city,” Mayor Andrew Ginther said in a statement released by his office.
Police chief Kim Jacobs described the officer as a well-liked veteran.
Weiner says SWAT officers served the warrant because of reports of Lincoln Rutledge’s recent erratic behavior and because he had access to weapons.
Officers approaching the apartment were fired upon several times through a first floor window and Weiner said an officer in an armored vehicle was struck and injured. He was listed in critical but stable condition at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Weiner said.
Another officer returned fire but Rutledge, 44, remained barricaded in the apartment and kept officers at bay for hours, despite efforts to have him surrender, Weiner said.
At one point, Weiner said, flames and smoke were seen coming from inside the structure but firefighters at the scene but could not battle the blaze because of worries that there would be more gunfire.
Rutledge was eventually taken into custody at approximately 7:15 a.m. Sunday and taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital in non-life-threatening condition with what appeared to be a bullet wound and smoke inhalation, Weiner said.
Along with the arson charged, Rutledge has also been charged with attempted murder, said Weiner.
He says additional charges are pending further investigation.