Man attacks Ohio police, steals cruiser before being shot dead

Bodycam footage from the Ohio State Patrol shows a suspect attacking a trooper before stealing his patrol car and being shot dead by the Pennsylvania State Police minutes later. 

On April 4, DeShawn Leeth, 30, was involved in a single-car rollover crash eastbound on the Ohio Turnpike in Springfield Township near the Pennsylvania state line, according to the Ohio State Patrol. 

After the crash, an officer arrived and spotted Leeth on the shoulder of the highway. He made contact with Leeth and was attacked. 

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Leeth was repeatedly yelling “in the name of Jesus” while he pushed the officer. 

“You’re gonna get hurt,” he told the officer as a scuffle ensued. “Next time you touch me, you gonna die.”

Leeth briefly ran down the shoulder of the highway before turning around and jogging back toward the officer. That’s when the officer pulled his Taser and used it on Leeth. 

Unaffected, Leeth began throwing punches at the officer. 

“I’m stronger than you,” he yelled.

After a brief fistfight, the officer was knocked to the ground, and his bodycam was obscured. The trooper had minor injuries and was treated at a hospital, the Ohio State Patrol said. 

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That’s when police say Leeth took off in the officer’s patrol vehicle and drove into Pennsylvania. 

The Pennsylvania State Police resumed the chase for Leeth, and when he crashed the Ohio cruiser, he again attacked officers, according to mlive.com.

He was reportedly shot dead at the crash site. 

Leeth was described as a community leader and the executive director of Under-Dawg-Nation, a nonprofit focused on children harmed by violence.

“Under-Dawg-Nation’s Mission is to help At-Risk Kids who lack resources and help prevent Teen Violence and disengagement from school,” according to the organization’s website. 

However, court records show Leeth spent seven years in jail in Michigan after pleading guilty to eight home invasion charges from separate incidents in 2012 and 2016. He was released in 2023. 

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Ohio State Patrol declined further comment. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pennsylvania State Police.