Middletown officer Denny Jordan, released from the hospital Monday night, is now on the long road to recovery after he was shot during an altercation with a man who led police on a 20-minute chase through Butler and Warren counties Monday evening.
Officials said Jordan was shot in the hand, tricep and leg. His K9 partner, Koda, was not injured.
Police said they pursued Christopher James Hubbard because he had an outstanding warrant for parole violation; Hamilton police said he's also a person of interest in an open murder investigation in their city.
Jones said officials were careful to keep speeds from 40 to 60 mph during the chase and monitored speeds and environment to determine whether or not the chase would need to be called off. Officers followed Hubbard roughly `12 miles before using stop sticks to disable his car.
The chase ended on Mason-Middletown road in the front yard of an occupied home, according to Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones.
“We used stop sticks," Jones told reporters Monday. "The suspect ran into the yard almost immediately. That point, the Middletown officer was the closest vehicle to the suspect’s car. At that point the suspect started shooting.”
Jones said they were given information that led officers to believe Hubbard intended to shoot it out with police.
Hubbard is still currently in the hospital after he was shot multiple times when officers returned fire during the incident. Jones said during the altercation, 9 different officers fired at Hubbard.
Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigations is aiding in investigating the incident, because it crossed multiple jurisdictions and involves several different law enforcement agencies.
Officers from the Fairfield, Hamilton and Middletown police departments responded, as did Butler County deputies and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
"We had information that he was in Middletown and working with them in terms of locating him, conducting surveillance and making every effort to get him into custody safely," said Craig Bucheit, Hamilton's police chief. "At some point during that surveillance he did go mobile. He was in a car and he was between jurisdictions at which point there were multiple other agencies that joined in to assist and try to get him stopped."
VIDEO: You can watch witness video from the scene below. WARNING: Contains the sounds of shots being fired during the altercation and may be difficult to watch for some.
