Rep. Haraz Ghanbari reacts to shooting he witnessed during ride-along

The first morning of 2022 was a dangerous one for State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari and Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Casimir Von Sacken whom Mr. Ghanbari had accompanied on a ride-along. 

As they traveled along State Rt. 25, the trooper made a traffic stop. Another person on foot in the area, and later identified by authorities as Graig Gibson, approached, and during an encounter with Trooper Von Sacken, Gibson reached toward a gun. The gun, which had been stolen, fired. A bullet hit Gibson in the right leg.

On Tuesday in Wood County Common Pleas Court, Gibson, 32, of Bowling Green was sentenced to 11 to 15 years in prison, Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson said. In January, Gibson had been indicted on six felony charges and four misdemeanors.

A patrol video provides a look at the incident, including the aftermath of the gun firing.

Trooper Von Sacken tackled Gibson, and as they searched for the gun, Rep. Ghanbari (R., Perrysburg) applied first aid to Gibson. A backup unit arrived, and the officers eventually secured the area and found the gun. 

“By the grace of God, that trooper’s alive. By the grace of God, Mr. Gibson’s alive,” Mr. Ghanbari said Wednesday, wondering what else could have happened that night without Trooper Von Sacken’s quick action. 

“It was due to that trooper’s training, his expertise, and his ability to stay calm under pressure that prevented this incident, that was driven by the decisions made by this suspect, from potentially being a lot worse than it was,” Mr. Ghanbari said.

State patrol Sgt. Ryan Purpura also praised the actions of Trooper Von Sacken, who has been with the patrol since 2010.

“Trooper Von Sacken’s actions during this incident are illustrative of his character,” Sergeant Purpura said in an email.

Mr. Ghanbari often does ride-alongs with troopers and other local officers. He joined Trooper Von Sacken of the Bowling Green post just after the ball dropped to mark the new year.

The video shows shows the traffic stop and a field sobriety test.

Trooper Von Sacken and Mr. Ghanbari heard a gunshot to the north, the lawmaker said.

It was a foggy night, and they were unsure what the noise was initially. Soon, they saw a man come through the fog. The trooper started to talk with him, and the man, Gibson, explained that he had run out of gas and was walking toward Bowling Green, Mr. Ghanbari said.

But Gibson grew flustered and reached toward his waistline, where he had a gun that had been stolen. As he did so, the gun in Gibson’s possession went off, and the bullet hit his right leg.

On Wednesday, Mr. Dobson said the prosecutor’s office sought a sentence of at least eight years.

“We’re very grateful that both [Mr. Von Sacken] and Representative Ghanbari and the two other people that were at the scene were all safe,” Mr. Dobson said. “And we believe that the sentence that was passed down [by the judge] was very appropriate for the danger involved in the situation.”

Mr. Ghanbari said the incident underscores the need to support law enforcement, both in the community and in the state legislature. 

“I want my friends and my family and our law enforcement and our first responders to go home at the end of the day,” he said. “And I want our communities to be safe, and this is something that I’m not gonna rest about.”

Mr. Ghanbari hopes legislative changes increase trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. He said trust includes accountability when necessary, and he highlighted the importance of funding body cameras for officers. The dash camera footage from the New Year’s morning incident was beneficial in establishing the facts of the situation.

He also said it is important that officers “get out and talk to folks. Listen, understand their concerns. Be present, be visible, be intentional. The flip side of that is our community needs to do the same things. Be proactive, be intentional, be respectful, engage.”

As part of this effort, Mr. Ghanbari is a proponent of political and community leaders doing ride-alongs with law enforcement, just as he was doing early on New Year’s. In October, Mr. Ghanbari launched #RideAlongAndLearn, a nationwide challenge nationwide to encourage this.

He said his Statehouse colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, often text him after ride-alongs that it gave them a new understanding of law enforcement’s capabilities.

Sergeant Purpura said the patrol agrees with efforts to ensure transparency and foster trust.

“As the patrol is committed to transparency, it is important that legislators and the public have insight into the day-to-day operations of troopers and the challenges we face as a law enforcement agency,” he said.

Sergeant Purpura emphasized the unpredictability of the job: The stop on New Year’s morning quickly shifted from a routine traffic stop to neutralizing a man with a gun to helping the very same man.

Mr. Ghanbari said, “There is no such thing as a routine call for service.”