Police: Newark officer was returning fire

NEWARK – Newark police fired one round in the direction of a man who shot at them after responding to a reported domestic situation Monday night.

Sgt. Paul Davis said the Newark Division of Police responded shortly after 7 p.m. Monday to a duplex on the 200 block of North 21st Street for a report of a domestic situation. Before officers got to the scene, dispatchers provided information that a firearm might have been involved.

When officers arrived, the man, 42-year-old John W. Williams, was upstairs in the duplex. A woman inside the duplex was allowed to leave the residence. The officers ordered Williams to come downstairs, Davis said, at which time Williams fired toward them. Multiple rounds were fired from a .45-caliber handgun, Davis said.

One of the officers, Jon Bell, returned one shot in Williams' direction with a department-issued AR-15 rifle. At that time, Williams ran into a room on the upper floor and could be heard reloading the weapon, Davis said.

Police immediately left the residence and called for additional officers to respond.

Several minutes later, a relative spoke to Williams on the phone and asked him to come outside. Williams surrendered himself without further incident and was taken into custody, Davis said.

Williams was charged Tuesday with felonious assault, a second-degree felony.

The other officer who responded, Dale Queen, did not fire his weapon, Davis said.

According to court records, Williams reportedly threatened to commit suicide and held a handgun to his head multiple times during the evening before police were called.

Bell has been on the police force since 1998. Queen has worked with Newark police since 1994. Both officers remain on duty, Davis said.

Williams appeared Tuesday afternoon in front of Licking County Common Pleas Magistrate Mattie Klein for a bond hearing on a charge of felonious assault.

During the hearing, Williams said he was sorry and embarrassed for what happened.

His bond was set at $100,000.

While the charge is set as a second-degree felony, it could be upgraded to a first-degree felony because the alleged victim is a police officer, Assistant Licking County Prosecutor Brian Waltz said.

The case will likely be heard by a grand jury in the coming weeks for consideration of a possible indictment and additional charges.

It was the third shooting involving a Newark officer in just more than three months; the others were Nov. 5 and Dec. 5.