GENEVA, Ohio — The man killed Wednesday during a confrontation with an Ashtabula County Sheriff’s deputy was unarmed, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation said.
Vincent Palma, 26, died shortly after a deputy shot him outside a house on South Ridge Road near Tuttle Road in Geneva, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Investigators did not recover any other weapons at the scene, BCI spokeswoman Jill Del Greco said Friday. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
The sheriff’s office has not released the deputy’s identity.
Palma’s aunt, Sharon Regal, believes the shooting might have been avoided if multiple deputies were at the scene. If Palma was not armed, the deputies could have tackled Palma and handcuffed him rather than shoot him, the Wickliffe resident said.
“I think if there were more officers there, Vinny never would have been shot and killed,” she said.
Ashtabula County Sheriff William Johnson said in a statement that Palma charged at the deputy, who had gone to the house to investigate a disturbance. The deputy first used a Taser and a baton to try to subdue Palma, but was unsuccessful, Johnson said.
The deputy then fired several warning shots at the ground as he called for backup. The deputy shot Palma before backup arrived, Johnson said.
Palma had been fighting with his half-sister before she called 911. Family members are unsure why Palma came toward the officer; some relatives feel he might have been trying to run away, as he’d done during previous run-ins with Florida law enforcement officers, Regal said.
Palma had a temper that he developed as he grew older, Regal said. He struggled after the Dec. 24, 2005 deaths of his brother Salvatore Palma III and half-brother Anthony Michael Palma in a Geneva car crash. Palma and his father were also in the car, she said.
In Florida, Palma had a series of convictions for offenses such as assault and disorderly conduct, court records show. But he moved to Geneva six months ago for a “fresh start,” his aunt said.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the Wednesday’s shooting. A BCI spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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