After wrecking his car in a yard on Mason-Montgomery Road, the 35-year-old sat in the driver’s seat and dialed 911. He was surrounded by police officers with guns drawn.
The 28-minute call from Hubbard’s cell phone was left open after he allegedly fired shots at officers and eight returned fire. Hubbard and Middletown Police Officer Dennis Jordan were hit and are recovering from non-life-threatening injuries.
While Hubbard told the dispatcher he was on the phone and officers could see his hands, a video taking by a bystander appears to show the opposite, said Butler County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer.
”We went back and matched up his audio with Warren County,” Dwyer said. “You hear he is talking, the bean bag round hits and he is talking and then you hear the gunfire. The beginning gunfire is his and he is saying things that are contrary to his actions.”
Dwyer added that “you can’t get in somebody’s head, but from all accounts he indicted he was going to go down, he wasn’t going back to prison he was going to shoot it out if it came to that. He obviously is pulled over, stopped sticked, there is a minute and a half or two before he dials 911.
“(We) command him to get his hands up and get out and he doesn’t comply … you can only surmise, if you have that many policeman yelling at you and you fire a weapon, you are going to get shot.”
Hubbard was screaming when he called 911 following the pursuit.
“911 tell the police don’t kill me. I am only making calls. They can see my hands … Tell the cops don’t shoot Chris Hubbard. I’ve just got to make these calls, I am calling my mom. I am calling my dad,” Hubbard says to the dispatcher.
The dispatcher tells Hubbard to comply.
“Hey, listen to me, you have got to keep your hands where they can see them,” the dispatcher said.
Hubbard says, “Yes I will do that, both of my hands. They can all see them I promise you … no, don’t do that, they are going to shoot at me.”
In the call, Hubbard cries and screams as bean bag shots burst out the windows then shots are fired.
“I got my hands up, let me make my calls. I got my hands up, Oh, shots,” Hubbard said before he began screaming.
A barrage of shots and a dog barking can be heard on the call. The remainder of the call is an open line of Hubbard’s phone, likely in the car. He screams and moans, and there is noise from sirens, officers, paramedics and radio traffic.
Jordan’s K-9 partner, Koda, was sent through the car’s broken windows. He was not not hit by bullets, but investigators believe he may have been hit by Hubbard’s hand or gun.
Middletown and Hamilton police and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office said Hubbard had said he was not going back to prison and would shoot it out with police.
Hubbard remained hospitalized on Friday. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the incident which could take several weeks, according to a spokesman.
Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell will be responsible for presenting the case to a grand jury.
When released from the hospital, Hubbard will likely be held on the parole violation until the investigation is completed.
“It is my understanding he has a parole violation – once he is able to recover physically that is holding him in place. He’s not going anywhere, so in a way the fact that you have those outstanding warrants and a charge gives us the ability to not have to file a preliminary charge,” Fornshell said
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