LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — A 35-year-old man involved in a 2025 shootout with Lima police officers has been sentenced to 75 to 81½ years in prison.
Emerson Jeffrey was sentenced on three counts of felonious assault, one count of discharging a weapon and additional gun-related charges stemming from an Oct. 31 incident.
According to authorities, Jeffrey was in the back seat of a vehicle that had been pulled over by Lima police. When officers ordered him to exit the vehicle, he opened fire, striking Officer Bryce Metz. Officers returned fire, hitting Jeffrey.
During sentencing in Allen County Common Pleas Court, Jeffrey apologized to Metz for the shooting and for involving him in what he described as an attempt at “suicide by cop.”
Following sentencing, Judge Terri Kohlrieser also addressed the officers involved in the incident.
A 35-year-old man involved in a 2025 shootout with Lima police officers has been sentenced to 75 to 81½ years in prison.
“Putting your lives on the line and doing it in the fashion you did, made sure every last one of you came home alive. And so for any of you doubting yourselves, and I hope your bosses, who I'm very glad to see here today, realize the kind of courage and heroism that you all share,” says Judge Terri Kohlrieser, Allen County Common Pleas Court.
Officials noted that at the time of the shooting, Jeffrey was on post-release control for an similar incident in Guernsey County involving law enforcement, where he had attempted to provoke officers into shooting him during a standoff following a police chase.
