Nondee Pritchett addresses the crowd during a rally for Quincy Pritchett with the NAACP Lima Branch Saturday afternoon.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — Family and friends of Quincy Pritchett, the Lima man who was reportedly killed by an Allen County sheriff’s deputy on June 21, gathered at the scene of the fatal shooting Saturday in search of transparency regarding Pritchett’s death.
“He was a good man,” said Nondee Pritchett, 20, Pritchett’s eldest daughter. “He wasn’t your average guy. He was a single father to me and my little sisters. Nothing like this was like him.”
Pritchett was killed outside this Second Street home around 2:30 a.m. June 21 in what the Allen County Sheriff’s Office has described as an attempted traffic stop turned vehicle-foot pursuit, which culminated in a “struggle” between Pritchett and Deputy Izak Ackerman.
Pritchett died, while Ackerman was reportedly shot in the face, according to the sheriff’s office.
‘We haven’t received any answers’
An initial press release from the sheriff’s office claims that Pritchett was armed with a firearm and that Ackerman “exchanged gunfire,” according to a preliminary investigation.
Ackerman was reportedly shot in the face and taken to Lima Memorial Health System before undergoing surgery at a Columbus-area hospital, according to the sheriff’s office. He was released the following day and placed on medical leave.
The investigation has since been turned over to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which will submit its findings to the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office and publish a report online once the case has been fully adjudicated.
Still, few other details have been released since the shooting occurred nearly two weeks ago, frustrating Pritchett’s family and neighbors who witnessed the aftermath of the shooting. They wonder: How long was Pritchett’s body left lying on the lawn? Why was he being pursued?
“We haven’t received any answers,” said Gwen McLaurin, Pritchett’s aunt.
She added: “We just want them to know that Quincy was not that kind of guy. I don’t know what happened that night—none of us do, because we were not there—but we do deserve answers. And we do deserve some closure.”
Shooting renews calls for body cameras
The sheriff’s office could release dash camera footage from the incident as soon as this week, but portions of the footage may be redacted as investigatory records, according to Public Information Officer Victoria Gonzalez.
Still, NAACP Lima chapter President Ron Fails on Saturday called on local law enforcement agencies to adopt clear protocols for releasing information after police shootings, citing the quick response in Akron after the death of Jayland Walker.
And to the Allen County Sheriff’s Office, Fails said: “We need body cameras now.”
“What the family is requesting is reasonable,” Fails said. “They’re not here pointing fingers. They’re not here making any kind of accusations about anyone.
“I don’t know who’s at fault, but what we do know is they don’t know anything about what took place … and the family needs disclosure.”
