AKRON, Ohio — Newly released body camera videos show the pursuit and eventual shooting of a tractor-trailer driver accused of injuring a Springfield Township police officer before slamming his truck into multiple vehicles (including police cruisers) last weekend.
Authorities say the ordeal began when the suspect, identified as Jeffrey Latson, got into an argument with a waitress inside the IHOP on South Arlington Road on Feb. 28. After Springfield officers followed Latson to the nearby Walmart, they and security tried to block the truck due to concerns about Latson being on the road. It was then where officials say two officers stepped onto the truck’s running boards in an attempt to remove Latson, but the suspect then put the truck in drive.
One officer jumped off safely; another was thrown off and broke his leg. Bodycam footage of this encounter has already been released, and it shows the officers shouting “Stop the truck” and “You’re going to get shot” at the truck’s driver before he steps on the gas…