A trooper from the Findlay Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 75 which ended with a trooper shot and injured, and the suspect at large.
On Oct. 6 at approximately 11:05 p.m. Trooper Josef M. Brobst of the Findlay Post conducted a traffic stop on a 2016 Chevrolet Black Suburban, with Michigan registration, after a speed violation on Interstate 75 southbound near mile post 160 in Hancock County, just south of Wood County. During the traffic stop, the driver identified as Robert Tramaine Hathorn, a struggle ensued involving the trooper’s service weapon that resulted in the trooper sustaining a gunshot wound. Hathorn then fled the scene.
Brodst was transported to Blanchard Valley Hospital with serious, yet non-life threatening injuries.
The trooper’s service weapon is in the possession of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Hathorn is still at large and is believed to be armed and dangerous. The suspects’ vehicle was recovered behind a business on County Road 140 near Township Road 89.
Hathorn is described as: a Black male, age 42, brown eyes, height 5’10” and weight 225.
The Patrol is asking for assistance. If anyone has information of Hathorn’s whereabouts to please contact the Ohio State Highway Patrol Findlay Post at (419) 423-1414.
This incident remains under investigation. Troopers are being assisted on scene by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the Findlay Police Department.
