(Toledo) - A Toledo Police officer has died in the line of duty. Officer Brandon Stalker was shot and killed during a standoff Monday afternoon.
Toledo Police Chief George Kral said at a Monday news conference that Officer Stalker, who was 24 years old, was one of the officers serving a warrant for the arrest of a suspect in the arson and vandalism of a church in Toledo early Monday morning.
On Monday afternoon, when police went to serve a warrant for suspect Christopher Harris, he holed up inside his house. A SWAT team was called in. Officer Stalker was stationed at a perimeter to keep bystanders away. After tear gas was deployed in the house, Harris ran out, with a gun in each hand, firing shots in several directions. One of those bullets hit Officer Stalker in the head, and he died at the hospital. Harris was shot by police, and also died at the hospital.
Officer Stalker had joined the Toledo Police in 2018. He was classmates with Officer Anthony Dia, who was killed in the line of duty last July 4. He had a fiance' and a three-month-old son.
WTOL-TV in Toledo reports that Warrants for Harris accused him of spray painting "Jesus is Black," and "black" multiple times on Rosary Cathedral in Toledo on Monday. He was accused of pouring a flammable liquid on the doors of the church and lighting it. A separate warrant accused Harris of spray painting the inside of his former apartment.
(Photo courtesy WTOL-TV)
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