Colunbus, OH: Man police killed had been shooting, they say

Sound of gunfire led officers onto 3rd-floor landing
Friday, April 2, 2010 2:50 AM
BY THEODORE DECKER
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Police say that Nyl R. Oday, 27, was firing a handgun when police arrived and fatally shot him.

A man fatally shot by Columbus police on the North Side late Wednesday night had fired a gun during a dispute with his girlfriend just before theyce arrived, police said.

Nyl R. Oday, 27, died in Ohio State University Medical Center at 12:30 a.m. yesterday, about 45 minutes after an officer shot him during a confrontation at the Abbey Lane apartments.

Sgt. Rich Weiner, a Police Division spokesman, gave the following account:

Officers were dispatched at 11:43 p.m. to 4319 Goldengate Square East on a report of gunshots in the complex.
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While headed there, officers were told that a man was outside, firing a gun and arguing with a girlfriend.

Officers arrived and heard more gunfire. They went to an upstairs landing at 4336 Goldengate Square West and encountered Oday, who had a gun.

He was shot more than once by one of the officers, Weiner said.

No one else was injured. The officer who fired is a 10-year veteran. The Police Division would not release his name yesterday.

"There were witness officers and independent witnesses to the shooting," Weiner said.

Sgt. Jim Gilbert, president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, said the officers had heard gunfire and realized that Oday was on a third-floor landing.

They had to climb the dark stairwell to confront him, Gilbert said, a dangerous proposition in tight quarters while approaching from below, which is why only one officer was in a position to fire when they realized Oday was armed.

"The threat became apparent just when they were getting to the top of the steps," Gilbert said. "The suspect had what we call the high ground."

The shooting is the sixth by Columbus officers this year, and the second fatal shooting. Two Columbus officers have been shot and wounded by suspects this year.

A Franklin Township officer and Whitehall officers also have fatally shot suspects this year.

Oday's family, gathered at his Northeast Side home yesterday, declined to comment.

Records show that Oday was charged in 2001 with resisting arrest and assault. He pleaded no contest to attempted assault, and the resisting charge was dismissed as part of the deal.

He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon in 2007, later pleading guilty to a lesser charge of attempting to do so. Probation for that offense ended in August.

tdecker@dispatch.com