2 Cincinnati undercover police officers recover after being shot at a bar

CINCINNATI - Just after 7 p.m. Saturday Cincinnati police converged at JD's Honky Tonk Bar in the 2500 block of Spring Grove Avenue in Camp Washington.

Police say the officers drove to the bar in high numbers to investigate a biker gang.

"There were a number of Iron Horsemen, motorcycle club members that were on the outside of the bar, in an outside beer garden type area. Several members of our vice squad were going to go up there and conduct an investigation. They were coming, accompanied by uniform personnel. I do know that when they pulled up at the scene, as officers got out of the car there was an exchange of gunfire. Actually the officers were met by gunfire," said Chief Tom Streicher with the Cincinnati Police Department.

Police say officers immediately began firing back. By the time bullets stopped flying a total of four people were shot. One was killed.

"One officer was shot in the thigh. The bullet went through. There's tissue damage there on him. At this point, does not require surgery. Another officer was shot in the hip. The bullet went through and came out his buttocks. That's also tissue damage and no other serious damage there so he is not going to require surgery. The one person from the horsemen motorcycle club was shot in the foot. My understanding is, he's going to be ok. And there is a fourth person as I said who was deceased here," Streicher said.

Police removed 14 Iron Horsemen from the bar and five are in custody and being questioned. One of those arrested is identified as Lew Erskine, but they say he did not have any involvement in the shootout. Erskine is charged with having a gun at the bar. The names of the rest of those involved have not been released.

Investigators are not saying if the two men shot are the same men who shot the officers however they are saying they are not looking for any additional suspects.

"There's nothing bad going with the police with the group itself. Motorcycle gangs are what they are. They do what they do and we do what we do. And occasionally there's a clash and unfortunately it happened tonight here."