Recordpub.com - Twinsburg officer mourned Suspect's lawyer says shooting was self-defense

From staff and wire reports
TWINSBURG " A man accused of killing a Twinsburg police officer by shooting him in the head pulled the trigger in self-defense, the defendant's attorney said Monday.
Joshua Miktarian was shot in the head four times, said Powell Caesar, spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Coroner's office, which completed an autopsy of the officer.
Ashford Thompson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder and remained in jail on a $5 million bond set Monday by Cuyahoga Falls Municipal Judge Kim Hoover.
Thompson's attorney, Larry Zukerman, said after the bond hearing that his client was defending himself. Zukerman would not elaborate other than to say that he had interviewed an eyewitness to the shooting.
Twinsburg Police Chief Chris Noga said Monday that Miktarian's gun was holstered when police found him.
A preliminary hearing has been set for 2:45 p.m. Monday, officials said. The case is expected to be bound over to the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, according to police.
Bedford Heights police arrested Thompson Sunday, less than an hour after Miktarian, 33, was shot multiple times in the head following a early morning traffic stop near Thompson's home on Glenwood Drive.
According to Twinsburg Police Officer Tom Austin, another person was in the vehicle driven by Thompson at the time of a traffic stop that preceded the shooting. The passenger's identity is not being released, Austin said, and no other details are being disclosed.
Miktarian was the first Twinsburg police officer to die in the line of duty in the 53-year history of the department, according to Twinsburg police.
A joint investigation into the shooting by the Twinsburg Police Department and the Summit County Sheriff's Office is ongoing.
Police say Miktarian, an 11-year K-9 officer with the city, pulled over Thompson for suspicion of loud music and operating a vehicle under the influence near Thompson's home in the 2400 block of Glenwood Drive.
According to Austin, Miktarian stopped Thompson's vehicle at 1:54 a.m. and requested assistance over the radio at 1:56 a.m. A 911 call was placed "at nearly the same time" by a resident from the same block of Glenwood Drive to Twinsburg dispatch, Austin said.
"The 911 caller reported hearing shouting between two people and popping sounds," he said.
At 1:57 a.m. a "status check" of Miktarian was radioed from Twinsburg dispatch to Miktarian's cruiser. There was no response from the officer, Austin said.
Officers from Twinsburg and surrounding communities immediately responded to the scene, where they discovered Miktarian on the ground near his cruiser.
The officer was transported by helicopter to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where he was pronounced dead at 2:48 a.m., according to police reports.
Bagio, the K-9 German Shepard that teamed with Miktarian, was found in the back of Miktarian's cruiser and was uninjured, police said.
According to police, Thompson had fled the scene but was apprehended at 2:41 a.m. by Bedford Heights police without incident at a home on Cambridge Road in Bedford Heights.
A firearm of unknown caliber was recovered as evidence, Austin said, and a set of Miktarian's handcuffs was attached to one of Thompson's wrists when Bedford Heights police took him into custody.
Prior to joining the Twinsburg force Feb. 24, 1997, Miktarian worked as a police officer in Uniontown. He had recently resumed part-time police work in Uniontown, "to give back to his roots," Noga said.
Miktarian graduated from Tallmadge High School in 1993 and lived in Tallmadge with his wife, Holly, an Oakwood police officer, and 3-month-old daughter, Thea.
Friends say Miktarian owned a Gionino's Pizza establishment in Sagamore Hills, and enjoyed playing in his rock band, Barium.
There have been at least two public vigils since Miktarian's death, each with hundreds in attendance.
Donations can be made to any Fifth Third Bank in care of the Twinsburg Police Association, Austin said.
Story by Andrew Schunk of the Twinsburg Bulletin, a sister publication of the Record-Courier, with information from the Associated Press.