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PD: Man pointed gun at officer, pulled trigger

Posted at 11:34 PM, Sep 15, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-15 23:34:58-04

LOCKLAND, Ohio -- A man is behind bars after he brandished a gun at an officer and pulled the trigger, according to Lockland police.

But there wasn't a bullet in the chamber.

This is according to an affidavit filed in Hamilton County Municipal Court, which states just before midnight Monday evening, officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop on 40-year-old Keno Phillips. After pulling over, police say Phillips sped away before officers could engage him.

After a pursuit that led the officers into Lincoln Heights, Officers Matt Kurtz and Travis Moyers apprehended Phillips, the affidavit states, but not without a struggle. During an altercation, Phillips “pulled a Glock 19 UH199 9mm semi-automatic pistol and put it to the (Kurtz's) abdomen, attempting to shoot the officer by pulling the trigger,” according to the affidavit.

The firearm did not hold ammunition in the barrel, rendering it ineffective. The officer then disarmed Phillips without harm, according to the report.

"This is a life and death situation," Lockland Police Chief James Toles said. "For the people who don't know what we deal with on a daily basis out here, you don't know what the officer's adrenaline is going at this time. A routine traffic stop could have turned into the officer or both officers actually dying last night."

After restraining Phillips, officers said they found a Crown Royal bag in the vehicle’s center console, containing six “individually wrapped bindles of a white powdery substance,” what officers later confirmed to be heroin.

Toles called Phillips' actions "unjustified" and an act of hostility toward law enforcement, a trend he said he's noticed getting worse and worse.

"I've been in law enforcement for 26 years," Toles said. "This is the worst it's ever (gotten)."

Kurtz and Moyers told WCPO Tuesday evening they're just happy to be alive. Toles gave them the night off.

Phillips was booked into the Hamilton County Detention Center early Tuesday morning and faces multiple charges, including three counts of felonious assault, one count of carrying a concealed weapon, one count of resisting arrest, and one count each of possession and trafficking in drugs, among others.

He'll be arraigned at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect that the weapon was loaded, but a bullet was not in the chamber.