MARION, OHIO -- Following a December 20, 2022 incident where LaRue resident Travis Hellinger fired a gun in the direction of police and a police dog, forcing members of the Marion County Special Response Team to return fire, killing Hellinger, the Marion County grand jury has cleared the law enforcement actions and decided not to bring any criminal charges.
Sheriff deputies and Marion police officers on the team had been serving a search warrant for drugs when Hellinger fled from them. As law enforcement sought to detain him along the railroad tracks near Section Street in LaRue, Hellinger fired a 9mm handgun toward the officers and a police dog that was being used to detain him. Officers were forced to defend themselves, returning fire and Hellinger died.
Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Ray Grogan chose to bring the entire incident before the Grand Jury, to provide the fullest amount of transparency and accountability to the use of force by the Special Response Team.
“Our law enforcement officers have a hard job, and their work gets downright dangerous when a fleeing criminal suspect tries to kill them,” Grogan said after the Grand Jury decision. “Our local law enforcement officers are among the best in the State of Ohio, and while I didn’t have any reason to believe the officers and deputies acted improperly, I wanted the citizens on the Grand Jury to review the facts. They did so and they decided that no charges should be brought. The matter is now closed.”
While not required by law, Prosecuting Attorney Grogan, Marion Police Chief Jay McDonald, and Sheriff Matt Bayles all agreed that it would be best to have the incident investigation done by an outside agency. They requested the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) to review the entire matter. Grogan reviewed the BCI report and considered all its findings.
“I want to thank Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and his office for assigning the stellar law enforcement officials at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to review this incident,” Grogan continued. “While this was a tragic outcome, it’s clear that law enforcement did what they are trained to do.”