Man shot by officer still in hospital
By JODY MURPHY and JOLENE CRAIGArticle Photos
PARKERSBURG - A man shot by a Parkersburg police officer remains hospitalized.
John Michael Sadler Jr., 19, 3204 25th St., Parkersburg, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital early Thursday morning where he underwent surgery. He was listed in fair condition, hospital spokesman Jill Parsons said.
The incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. in the area of 25th Street and Lincoln Avenue, Parkersburg police said.
Neighbors said they heard gunshots about 1:30 a.m. and found the police surrounding the property diagonal to Sadler's residence.
A neighbor who went outside just after the shots were fired said someone was slumped against a tree, near the corner.
"He said 'I'm dying.' And he was talking about his back and arm hurting,'' the neighbor said of the man.
An affidavit in the warrant obtained Thursday to search the Sadler residence said the officer in the shooting was Sgt. Jay Hart.
Neither police Chief Gerald Board nor Prosecutor Ginny Conley would release further details of the shooting. Board said he and Conley mutually agreed to that while the investigation was under way.
Earlier in the day, Conley told The News and Sentinel that she was called by Board not long after the shooting to begin an investigation.
"I am coordinating an impartial investigation in conjunction with the Vienna police and Wood County Sheriff's Department," Conley said.
Board said the officer will be placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
"He's (Sadler) had a bit of trouble... Around me he was always respectful. He never caused me any trouble," said Patrick Fought, a cousin and neighbor of Sadler's.
Sadler attended Williamstown and Parkersburg high schools. He worked for a company in Marietta until he was laid off several weeks ago because the company was moving, Fought said.
Fought said the doctor said Sadler was shot once with double-up buckshot.
Neighbors said Sadler had been in some minor trouble before. A check of The News and Sentinel archives showed Michael Sadler pleaded guilty June 2 to a charge of public intoxication. He was arraigned March 5 on charges of underage consumption and public intoxication.
"He's a good kid. He's had some problems in his life, like most teenagers," said a neighbor from Lincoln Avenue. "He visited my grandmother and was always very kind and respectful to her."
He said he heard the shots, went outside and heard a young male voice shout that his back hurt.
"I could tell it was a young boy yelling 'Oh God, it hurts,'" the neighbor said. The police shouted for the neighbors to get back in the house and for the teen to get on the ground.
He said he saw a line of SWAT members running down the road and he returned to his house. Thursday morning he was told Sadler was the man shot.
"He was one of the first neighbors to talk to us when we moved here," a neighbor said.
Sadler babysat her son and her son loves him, she said.
Between 15 and 20 officers were at the scene with four or five officers present at the time of the shooting, Board said. The SWAT unit also was on the scene.
Board would not say how many rounds were fired or where the suspect was hit.
Recent law enforcement-related shootings in West Virginia included in August 2007 when State Police Trooper B.L. Keefer fatally shot Michael Fisher, 35, of Jackson County. Keefer, answering a call of shots being fired, responded to the Fisher residence on Windell Ridge Road near Fairplain where Fisher pulled a loaded .44-caliber magnum revolver from his waist, ignored numerous orders to drop the weapon and then charged the officer while waving the gun.
On Dec. 18, 2002, Wood County sheriff's Capt. Rick Woodyard, then part of Parkersburg Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, shot 33-year-old Bryan Paul Causey of South Charleston after Causey tried to run over several officers with his vehicle in an attempt to flee the scene where a controlled drug buy took place in the Mullenix subdivision off West Virginia 21.
Staff writer Rachel Lane contributed to this story.
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SHELIA
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09-12-08 12:25 PM
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and Understood, if it seems like I am harsh to "that little girl" she could have siad, hey, I am a kid, this was my cousin or whatever and we are all sad, she is lucky, as a kid, not to see her cousin dead, she is getting into adult conversation and mommy gets upset and bails her out. Hopefully this cycle of violence will NOT continue and allison can grow up without tragically losing a fmaily member to domestic violence.
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SHELIA
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09-12-08 12:18 PM
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To allisons mom, if allison doesn't want to be spoken to like an adult, than she should stay out of adult forums, I DO have compassion, that's why I am so darn adamant and passionate about these things. Violence, threatening with guns, knives etc, is wrong!!!!! My best friends husband beat her up untill she said she was leaving, then he took his gun and killed her, that is why I am so aggravated when people go around toting guns, threatening people, even themselves, other people get hurt in the process!! My friend was an ONLY child, she is DEAD, her parents and friends and family MOURN, your family doesn't have to see Michael in a casket never to be seen on earth again!!!!! That is my problem, drunk people with guns---people get hurt or killed, Michael has a chance ot make amends, maybe he should talk to my friends mom and see her pain??
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Understood
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09-09-08 9:04 PM
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In the end when the Police officer will be righted or rewarded and it is not our place to point fingers do you have a degree in law? NOT HARDLY you probably dont even have a GED... When you pass judgement that makes you no better then the scum that prowls our streets looking for some life to ruin.. So the next time you are about hit comment think long and hard before you choose your words!
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Understood
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09-09-08 9:00 PM
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I cannot believe they let people get on here and say things to people that you know nothing about! You guys have no idea what is on the other side of the screen and you should choose wisely what you say and how you say it.. Just like the little girl you are talking horrible to that is her family member you should have some respect apparently something you parents didnt teach you. Alot of room to talk about parents you are setting good example for your children saying the stuff you are saying!
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allison94
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09-09-08 8:03 PM
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and just so that you know he DID NOT threaten his family, he thought he was going to kill himself and needed serious help[!!!
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allison94
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09-09-08 8:02 PM
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sheila this is allisons mother you have no compasion she is a teenager straight a's extra activities a very good girl her heart is broke do not speak until you know who or what you are talking about get the facts
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SHELIA
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09-08-08 1:42 PM
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Allison you say Michael did not commit a crime, ummmmmmm BRANDISHING A DEADLY WEAPON IS A CRIME. Only a dang fool would actually NOT put the gun down when police arrive, simple minded, maybe, a boy NOT, he is a man and is now paying the price with his pain, he's lucky he is still here to moan about it, if it was a bigger city, he'd have been having a funeral this week instead of a court hearing. Shut MY mouth? I think not little lady, I will be quiet when I please and not when some snot nosed brat with an attitude tells me to. So chew on that for awhile and go visit Mikey in the hospital then jail if you want to be so near him. Good day to you.
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SHELIA
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09-08-08 1:34 PM
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oh Allison, boo hoo hoo, poor Michaels mom left him and he grew up this way, so did a lot of other kids, but they don't go around assaulting people or threatening them with weapons or aimimg said weapons at the cops. He is lucky he isn't dead, and would you be saying the same crap if he had actually killed someone? poor Michaels family for being scared for their lives is what I say. Let him stew for awhile in his own juices and see if he picks up a gun and threatens anyone again, poor Michael my foot, that comment makes me sick.
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opinionated1
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09-07-08 10:59 PM
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My family has been through way more than most people could endure. Bad decsion or not it is a illegal to brandish a firearm. I am not implying that the officer was correct.I said ["Officer Harts duty to "protect and serve" and that includes protecting himself"]Somehow the officer or officers felt that someones life was threatened...so therefore they fired. Right or wrong-- the deed is done. And obviously someone is in the right & someone is in the wrong.
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allison94
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09-07-08 9:33 PM
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dolycha, you are spreading info that is absolutely not true. we are family and know the truth, the papers as everyone, should know does not print anything that is 100% true. he did not threaten to kill his family, and did not aim at anyone including the officer. sgt. jay hart did shoot at him with a double ott buck shot and shot to kill not to disarm
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allison94
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09-07-08 9:23 PM
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something that cant seem to get through your ignorant heads, that know nothing about is that he comitted no crime whatsoever =, the only thing he did was have a gun in hand. and no he is not in fair condition at all!! he is in terrible pain. it turns out because i saw the bullets myself that he was shot 3 times but their were 4 exit wounds. one with a pistol, one with a shotgun, and 2 with a buckshot, so dont even act like u know anything about whats going on!! everything in the media is incorrect and changes everyday. the truth will be out soon enough, and u wouldnt know because u werent in the hospital today like me and my family were. dont go spreading anything u dont know!!!!!!!
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opinionated1
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09-07-08 5:58 PM
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Patrick... What your dad was or is doesnt mean jack squat. Obviously you did not follow in his footsteps. AND I am intitled to my own opionion. You are a piece of **** and have lead others down your distorted path of righteousness. Unlike you I protect my family and do not pass the the peace pipe. Therefore my name is not important because I am doing everything I can to protect my family, especially from people like you and I dont need to hide behind my daddys good name. I just keep my nose out the dust and my head out of the smoke clouds. I suggest you do the same.
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dolycha
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09-07-08 4:28 PM
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he was not "just a boy". he was a man old enough to fight in the military. a lot of us have a bad past, but that does not hinder what we become, and the less we use that as an excuse, the more likely we are to succeed. what he demonstrated for you all who have never seen it or heard of it before is known as "DEATH BY COP" only in his case, the cops were not lethal. it happens all the time in other more developed areas. had he been anywhere else, no amount of surgery would have saved him. oh, tje swat team doesn't use "buckshot" either, so i'd wager that a local also tagged him, just for fun. maybe he'll turn his life around, if he's got a brain.
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allison94
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09-07-08 2:26 PM
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opinionated1 patrick fought's dad was a city cop & retired from the force crank doesnt come to mind making a bad decision comes to mind & havent we all done that i hope you only have 1 family member that has ever made a mistake because most families have had there problems but we stick together & love one another during hard times that truly is what a family is all about and we love our family mistakes and all can you say that kelly missy allison kylie & eric
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allison94
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09-07-08 2:19 PM
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sheila once again i see you are spreading your sick way of thinking find out the whole story i truly hope if you have kids that don't make stupid mistakes you are an ignorant idiot who has no idea what truly happened so i suggest you keep your ideas to yourself and let god judge you in the end the way you have judge others keep your mouth shut on the subject no one will truly know the truth 100% family knows best i hope i had time on my hands like you to spread your ignorance all day long on the computer have a nice day
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allison94
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09-07-08 1:43 PM
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what the HECK, are you people thinking!? he is just a kid who made a mistake, he never threatened anyone and never caused harm to anyone or anything. dont even act like you know anything because im actually related to the guy!! you wouldnt know the first thing about him. did u know that his mother walked out on him when he was two years old?? and he never really had a father because hes a drunk and picked his girlfreind over his son. michael took care of himself and never was taught anything about how to behave. HAVE A HEART< HE IS JUST A CHILD IN PAIN!!
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cakes1
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09-06-08 8:08 AM
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understood i agree with all of the others keep your dog where it belongs and it is horrible to even bring that up when officer hart had to use his weapon to protect himself...so what if he did hit your dog, that does mean he should be shot because of it!
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bobzim
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09-05-08 11:53 PM
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If your dog got out through a crack in the fence, then it was obviously NOT contained. You are responsible, not the officer.
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SHELIA
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09-05-08 11:21 PM
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The guy was an idiot, lets chase oyr family around and threaten to kill them, then not put said weapons down when police arrive, real smart cookie there. People act like that and what do they expect, coddling? What a fool, he is lucky he isn't dead. Officers have training, they COULD have easily killed him and gotten by with it for self defense, I hope they withhold paind meds so he can clear his brain a little.
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brentgriffen
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09-05-08 11:04 PM
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Understood, you say he about hit your dog, then you say he put it in a pillowcase, then it's dead. I am sure if he were enroute to you or your family's home while a loved one was being brutally beaten or worse you would be 3 shades of ticked if he didn't run over every single dog that finds it's way out of a "kennel" if you want to call it that. Pour a concrete pad, put up real fencing and put the dog in it, thats a kennel. Bringing up a dog incident when a human was shot is real iffy anyhow. Sorry about your dog but this officer may be the one to come pull someone off from you someday and rest assured you would want him there now.
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Understood
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09-05-08 9:45 PM
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My dog was contained he was in a fenced in yard he had gotten out through a crack in the fence. Which was clearly visable by the officer!
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bobzim
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09-05-08 7:25 PM
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Understood: I am sorry you lost your dog, but if you cared about it so much, why was it not on a leash or contained in your yard? You as a pet owner have a responsibility to have your pet under control at all times. If it had bit a child when it was coming "barely off the curb," you would be liable. L
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Understood
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09-05-08 6:48 PM
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Okay okay okay I have to say something about this! You know I see all you people saying way to go Hart.. I want to say the same man you are saying "Protect and Serve" about hit my dog with his car Aug. 12th 2008 funny thing is my dog was barely off the curb. He put my dog in a pillow case and gave us his number said he would help in anyway possible "COP OF THE YEAR AWARD" not hardly when I called him to ask him to have it turned into his insurance he avoided me for two days and then was rude when he did finally return my phone call "I am not turning nothing into my insurance there was no damage to my car!!! No there was no damage to your car but to my 300$ dog and baby.. Not to mention my children who cry everyday over their dog that isnt comming back was only 8 months old and our family member.
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opinionated1
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09-05-08 6:15 PM
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Did anybody recognize the name of the cousin,Patrick Fought??? His name was in the August 23, 2008 paper which read "In another unrelated accident, Parkersburg police arrested a Lincoln Avenue man after he fled the scene of a 1:30 a.m. Friday accident. Patrick Fought, 38, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, failure to maintain control, driving without insurance and striking a fixed object in the 1900 block of Seventh Street." they are related...go figure and i'd lay money on it that drugs were involved. Patrick is such a good example for him! When I hear Patricks name "Crank" is the first thing that comes to my mind! It is Officer Harts duty to "protect and serve" and that includes protecting himself.
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bensgirl
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09-05-08 5:32 PM
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I agree, this officer had to protect us and himself. I'm sure he has a family to go home to at the end of shift as well. It sounds to me that this young man needs some mental help as well.
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