SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — We're following through after a frightening incident, caught on body camera nearly six weeks ago, talking with a Springfield Township officer who told us about what happened, his recovery, and the search for a mystery woman who prayed for him after he was injured.
Officer Harold Britt, who served as Uniontown's police chief for seven years, told News 5 that he was pushed off a moving semi during an encounter with a trucker outside a Springfield Township Walmart on Feb. 28.
The trucker, Jeffrey Latson, was later shot by other police officers in Akron.
"It's a dangerous job," Britt said. "At a moment's notice, it can go from zero to 100 and you can be injured."
Britt, 55, has been on crutches and using a brace after his right leg was broken in two places.
Body camera video, provided by Springfield Township police, shows Britt and another officer yelling at Latson and trying to convince him to turn off the truck and get out, but he refused.
At one point, Britt can be heard saying, "You're gonna get tased right now!"
The officers were called to the area after receiving a 911 call claiming Latson was threatening people inside a nearby IHOP restaurant.
"He was threatening to shoot the female, his ex-girlfriend, who was pregnant, and threatened to shoot her and kill the baby, and then, he threatened to kill a manager," Britt said.
During the encounter, Britt jumped on the semi's side step, where more heated words were exchanged.
The video shows the trucker driving away with the officer still hanging on. Britt said.
Britt said that a few moments later, he was pushed off the moving truck by Latson.
"He actually leaned up, grabbed a hold of the steering wheel with his right hand then shoved me," Britt said.
Britt broke a leg and hit his head on the concrete.
"I was actually knocked out for probably four seconds, five seconds. I don't remember rolling over to all fours, and the first thing I remember, there's a lady laying down beside me and started praying, and that's the first thing I remember," Britt said. "She just asked God to watch over me and to heal me and to keep me safe."
Video from another officer's body camera shows the unidentified woman praying on the ground. Britt said he would like to find her to say thank you.
"I have her on video, but I don't want to put it on Facebook— maybe she doesn't want to be known, but we'd like to meet with her again," Britt said.
Police said Latson drove off from the Walmart and stopped somewhere to attach his trailer. During a drive that continued into Akron, he called 911.
"I'm not stopping for them. I'm not gonna let them kill me today. They're not gonna kill me today," Latson told a dispatcher.
According to police, Latson struck several cars, including cruisers, in the area of East Market Street and Innovation Way before two Akron police officers and a Summit County deputy fired multiple shots.
RELATED: It started as a police chase involving a semi. And ended with a police shooting.
Latson was shot four times, and he's still being treated at an Akron hospital, according to his father, Jeffrey Latson Sr.
In a phone interview last month, Latson Sr. blamed Springfield Township police and Akron police, believing they escalated the situation.
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RELATED: Father speaks out after son shot 4 times by police after chase
"They escalated the situation by screaming at him and telling him to get out, and he's gonna get shot and tased," Latson Sr. said.
However, Tim Dimoff, a use-of-force expert, reviewed the footage and said the suspect posed a danger multiple times.
"You have an 80,000-pound truck and trailer, which is really the driver turning it into a weapon," Dimoff said.
Britt estimates he'll be on crutches for a few more weeks, then continue using the brace for a few weeks after that. He hopes to return to the job he loves in June.
After surviving a frightening fall, he wanted to share a message with other drivers.
"Mainly to the public to know that if you're given directions by law enforcement officers, listen to them. Don't hold court on the side of the road."
