Licking County, Johnstown police bodycam shows fatal shooting of man trying to stab, kill his sister

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New body camera videos from the Licking County Sheriff’s Office and Johnstown police show the moments that led officers to shoot and kill a man they say tried to stab and kill his sister in a house in Alexandria.

The footage, which The Advocate obtained through records requests, shows images of a Johnstown police officer and a sheriff’s office deputy entering an Alexandria home before shooting and killing Douglas L. Plott, 54, of Alexandria, inside a home around 9:20 a.m. in the 4000 block of Northridge Road.

Officers were responding to a report of domestic violence at the home, where they allege witnesses saw a man trying to stab and kill his sister. In 911 calls shared with The Advocate, one caller told dispatchers that Plott threatened to kill his sister and himself with butcher knives, while another reported that the sister sent them a text saying that Plott threatened her with a butcher knife and eventually a gun.

Deputies administered CPR to Plott after the shooting. EMS personnel arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene after treating him.

No police officers were injured, although the sister suffered a cut to her hand; she was otherwise unharmed.

The sheriff’s office’s footage of the shooting is blurry, unlike Johnstown police’s footage. The Johnstown police, however, skewered the officers involved, while the sheriff’s office did not.

The footage identified the officers who entered the home and shot Plott: Gary Hargraves of the Johnstown police and Sheriff’s Deputy Sarah McCreery.

A third officer, whom The Advocate could not immediately identify, also entered the home before the shooting, although footage shows them telling officers at the scene that they did not fire their weapons.

In the footage, Hargraves and McCreery, who was placed on administrative leave after the shooting, tell other officers that they shot Plott.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s review of the shooting remains active and ongoing, Ohio Attorney General’s Office press secretary Steve Irwin told The Advocate on Tuesday.

Most of the footage from the Sheriff’s Office shows McCreery and other officers responding to the report of domestic violence at the home and interacting with authorities after the encounter with Plott, which lasted about 30 seconds, according to the footage.

In the footage, Hargraves and McCreery stand outside facing a door with their weapons drawn before McCreery opens it. The images become completely blurry after entering the house.

Johnstown police footage shows Hargraves and McCreery agreeing to enter a room before ordering someone to drop a knife. In August, police said they found Plott and his sister in a bedroom, where they said he held her at knifepoint.

Moments later, McCreery and Hargraves continue to order someone to drop a knife as they chase them through the house. A fire is visible in the footage as Hargraves moves through the house.

McCreery’s chase through the house continues until what appears to be a loud bang prompts her to open a door. She enters a room and again repeatedly orders someone to drop a knife before gunshots are heard as she speaks. The footage shows Hargraves firing his gun twice.

The footage also shows Plott’s head drooping after the officer fired shots.

It is unclear from the footage whether Plott charged the officers or threatened them or his sister with a gun before they shot him.

The footage then shows Plott’s sister pleading for help before McCreery offered it, helping her leave the house and staying with her until other authorities treated her. Footage shows smoke from the fire coming out of the building after the shooting.

Although some footage is blurry, officers can be seen and heard moving Plott’s body from inside the home to a location outside, citing the fire in the home and believing it would engulf the property. Several officers performed CPR on him after transporting him.

In the footage, some officers say Plott did not have a weapon but found two knives next to him.