North Ridgeville officers did not use unreasonable force during the shooting

The Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office announced Thursday that two North Ridgeville police officers did not use unreasonable force when a man was fatally shot during a confrontation on May 8.

The shooting

According to Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson, North Ridgeville police were notified by the White County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee that a man named Jason Norris had murdered his girlfriend and was possibly in the Northeast Ohio area in a stolen vehicle.

North Ridgeville Police used a Flock camera to determine that Norris had been seen in the area. After hearing about the situation, an officer went to a home in the 4800 block of James Road that he knew and that “had ties to the state of Tennessee,” Tomlinson said.

Another officer then went to the intersection of James Road and Paula Boulevard, parked his cruiser and went to the house.

Police identified Norris, who was standing in the driveway, along with another person who lived there.

Officers ordered both individuals not to move, which the resident complied with, but Norris ignored it and walked down the driveway.

Tomlinson said the officers identified themselves as police and continued to order the man not to move. Norris went to the stolen vehicle, opened the door and retrieved a gun. He then turned to one of the officers and fired one shot, the prosecutor said. At that point, Tomlinson said, the officers fired their service rifles at the man, and he was struck by a bullet.

After Norris fell to the ground, he was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

In his review of the case, Tomlinson wrote that “Norris attempted to kill these officers and clearly posed a danger to all North Ridgeville police officers stationed at the scene.”

He continued: “The question of whether Norris was actively resisting arrest at the time he was killed is clear. He did indeed try to shoot his way out, and this brief standoff ended with Norris’s life.”

‘I’m angry. Disbelief. Sick.’

After the shooting, we spoke with Norris’ grandmother, who told us she had no idea anything was going on when Norris showed up unexpectedly at her home.

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“I was in the house and when they started shooting, I looked out the window and saw him lying in the driveway,” the grandmother said. ‘I’m upset. Disbelief. Sick.’

She said a family member helped her figure out what happened.

“I called his brother in Tennessee and he told me Jason shot his girlfriend and it was her car he came here in,” the grandmother said. “I didn’t think he’d ever hurt anyone, but you never know.”