Ohio officer shoots woman while clinging to hood of moving car

COLUMBUS — A 32-year-old woman is in the hospital after being shot by a Columbus police officer who was clinging to the roof of the car she was driving.

On Wednesday, an individual contacted Columbus police around 3:20 p.m. to alert them that they saw their vehicle that had been previously stolen, according to our news partners at WBNS in Columbus. When officers found the car, they attempted to stop it but were unsuccessful.

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They followed the car for a short time before disengaging. Around 30 minutes later, police spotted the car in the parking lot of a Sheetz gas station.

Sgt. Joe Albert, of the Columbus Division of Police, told WBNS that after the car was spotted the second time, the plan was to deploy stop sticks to keep the car from driving off, but the car turned into a shopping center and started driving erratically.

Police blocked off all the exits of the shopping center and then the car began backing up before abruptly accelerating forward and hitting the sergeant.

After that, the car continued driving around the parking lot with the sergeant on the hood of the car, WBNS reported. The sergeant fired several shots at the driver, identified in court records as 32-year-old Holly Graham, hitting her at least once.

After shots were fired, the car drove through a grassy median and back onto the road, which caused the sergeant to fall off the hood.

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Graham tried to get away after that but ended up hitting two other vehicles head-on in the area of Interstate 71.

Graham was taken into custody and transported to a hospital in serious condition. She’s since been charged with felonious assault for causing serious physical harm to a peace officer.

The sergeant involved, who was not identified due to Marsy’s Law, was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition.

WBNS reported that the occupants of the two vehicles Graham hit had minor injuries.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the matter.

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