The Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office has determined that an officer-involved shooting of a man in Brookfield Township back in 2023 was justified.

The shooting occurred in March of 2023 when police say 50-year-old Fred Wild III got into a stolen pickup truck with a snow plow attached and drove it towards officers at a cabin on the 2400 Block of SR-7 in Brookfield.

Police say they had received reports of a "dangerous suspect" trespassing in a cabin on private property. Police were able to determine this suspect to be Wild, who they recognized from previous fleeing and eluding eluding incidents.

Officers shot and killed Wild when he got into the truck and allegedly drove it towards the officers with it while trying to escape. His death was ruled as a homicide.

According to the report, the truck was parked so close to the cabin Wild was able to enter it through the open window without his feet touching the ground outside.

The report states that once Wild got into the truck, police continuously ordered him to get out and show his hands, but he never complied.

Prosecutors say as officers approached the truck, Wild put the truck into drive and accelerated so fast the tires were spinning and spewing gravel and dirt. 

That's when Wild allegedly drove the truck into the direct path of at least two officers causing officers to shoot him in order to avoid getting struck by the truck.

Prosecutors determined the shooting to have been justified stating that Wild clearly intended to escape since he had parked the truck in such a way to prevent officers from getting into the cabin, as well as to provide himself an easy escape.

Prosecutors also noted multiple other high speed chases involving Wild in the days leading up to the incident, as well as text conversations between Wild and his girlfriend, as well as his son.

Multiple messages make reference to fleeing police including one message from Wild to his son that read in part, "Hey, did the police stop looking for me yesterday" and another to his girlfriend that read in part, "I need a faster car to run from the cop cars."

Additionally prosecutors conducted interviews with Wild's family members who had mentioned that Wild had struggled with some mental health issues.

Wild's girlfriend described him as "manic" and "delusional" and further stated that Wild told her he was "hearing voices." Meanwhile, Wild's son said he exhibited "paranoid schizophrenic" behavior, but was never officially diagnosed and was not taking medication for these issues.

Because of these findings, the case will not be presented to a grand jury and no action will be taken against any of the officers involved in the shooting.

In February of 2024, Wild's estate filed a lawsuit against the officers involved in the shooting claiming that Wild was actually a "social guest" in the cabin and that the use of deadly force was not necessary because Wild was unarmed at the time.

The Prosecutor's Office did acknowledge this pending litigation, but declined to make any public comments as not to unnecessarily publicize the lawsuit.

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