BELLVILLE ― Butler Mayor Wesley Dingus, 47, of Butler, was the driver of the vehicle that struck a man fleeing on foot from a Butler police traffic stop on July 11.
Bellville Police Chief John Fletcher told media during a July 21 press conference that Dingus found a man with an active warrant out for his arrest.
Fletcher said the mayor is technically the top law official in any given town. He said a mayor could, under certain circumstances, make an arrest.
Until the press conference, officials had released scant details about the incident.
Last week, video surfaced of a red car driven by an employee of the village of Butler striking a man twice as the man allegedly fled from Butler police. The footage showed the driver exiting his car and fist-bumping someone in the village on State Route 95.
Earlier, Fletcher confirmed the driver of the car was a village employee, but would not release the man’s name. The security camera video footage belongs to a business owner in the village, Fletcher said. The building is the former Village of Butler Office.
Only a highly redacted version of the crash report was released by police. Released 911 tapes included the grandmother of the man asking dispatch to send a sheriff’s deputy, not a police officer, to the scene because “they are the ones that ran him over.”
Butler Police Chief Eric Winbigler asked Bellville to conduct the investigation into the incident.
Fletcher said the Bellville Police Department did not file any charges to the Richland County Prosecutor, but sent a copy of the case findings to Prosecutor Jodie Schumacher’s office.
“They will be the determining factor if any charges are filed,” Fletcher said.
Fielding questions from media, Fletcher said he is not here to determine whether Dingus ran over the man intentionally.
“We are here to provide a non-biased, fact-driven report for the Richland County prosecutor,” Fletcher said.
“At (7:03 p.m.) Chief Winbigler was contacted by Mayor Dingus,” he said. “Chief Winbigler was advised that Mayor Dingus was following a vehicle that he recognized as having a male on board that had warrants by law enforcement.
“Butler chief was advised of the vehicle description of a black Chevy Traverse and that it pulled into the Duke and Duchess of Butler, being 11 W. Main St. The chief arrived on scene, recognized the vehicle belonging to a 77-year-old Mary Hunter out of Butler, and she was the operator of the vehicle,” Fletcher said.
Anthony Ward, 37, who was staying with his grandmother, was the front seat passenger.
“Mr. Ward did in fact have an outstanding warrant for his arrest, which was issued out of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections,” Fletcher said.
The warrant noted Ward was violent and dangerous.
As Winbigler exited his patrol car in full uniform, Hunter exited her vehicle and approached him, yelling at him.
“Mary Hunter was advised to step back and away from the chief and Mary Hunter continued to yell at the chief,” Fletcher said. “The chief approached the passenger side of the vehicle where Mr. Ward was attempting to duck down and elude being seen by law enforcement.
“Chief Winbigler repeated multiple times for Mr. Ward to show his hands as he approached the passenger side of the vehicle. After multiple commands, Mr. Ward did comply, showing his hands. The chief then asked Mr. Ward to exit the vehicle and he had advised him of the outstanding warrants. As Ward exited the vehicle, he advised the chief he was not going back to prison and a scuffle ensued as he exited the vehicle. Mr. Ward was able to break free from the chief’s grip and then started to run across the road away from the chief.
“It was about this time that my investigating officers heard the stress and Chief Winbigler’s voice over the radio, so they automatically proceeded to head that direction to try to figure out what was going on,” Fletcher said.
The Butler chief chased after Ward on foot, ordering him to stop, when a red vehicle passed the chief and pursued Ward into the roadway, hitting Ward with the front of the vehicle, Fletcher said.
“Ward then slid off and continued to run into what they call Independence alley, where the red vehicle attempted to prevent him from further running and struck Mr. Ward with the front passenger corner,” Fletcher said. “This is when Ward’s left leg got caught in the wheel well and was stuck under the car, where his left leg was run over.”
The collision happened shortly before Bellville officers arrived on scene. Only 10 to 12 seconds passed from the time Ward broke free of Winbigler until the time he was run over, Fletcher said.
Officers started first aid on Ward and waited for the EMS from Worthington Township. Ward was then transported to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital.
Bellville officers interviewed the mayor at the scene and conducted second interviews with Dingus as well.
The Bellville Police Department took control of Mayor Dingus’ vehicle at the scene and brought it to the Bellville police station for further photographs and measurements, Fletcher said.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
X: @LWhitmir
419-521-7223
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ohio mayor ran over man fleeing from police, chief says
Reporting by Lou Whitmire, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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