Shocking 911 emergency call footage shows how a cyclist in Ohio narrowly escaped being hit by an SUV.
Minutes earlier, the suspect, identified as 42-year-old Michael Leppelmeier, had deliberately driven into another cyclist, according to police.
“I was riding my bike, and this guy in a white Ford Explorer came by and threw a damn battery at my head. He’s right here, right now!” the 68-year-old victim, whose name is not released, can be heard saying in the video after the incident on Wednesday morning.
“Now he was trying to run me over with his car! Holy shit!” he continues.
Police in Mentor arrived promptly, but the suspect had already fled, police said in a statement.
On officers’ body camera footage, the same victim can be heard saying the driver tried to run him over on his bike and got out of his car to physically assault him after missing.
“He threw my damn bike away!” the man recalls in the video, pointing to a nearby pond.
“See? See my bike? It cost $3,500, and he took my cell phone too.”
Bodycam footage from a police officer shows a 68-year-old cyclist from Mentor, Ohio, explaining how he was attacked Wednesday by a 42-year-old local man.
The suspect, later identified as 42-year-old Michael Leppelmeier, was arrested after an altercation outside his home.
Minutes earlier, officers had received another emergency call from a woman who reported seeing another cyclist hit by a speeding car in front of her house.
Officers found another cyclist, a 72-year-old man, also injured. He had been struck by the car and was lying on the sidewalk, as further footage shows.
“I was riding down the street here, and some guy deliberately ran across the road and hit me. I couldn’t even brake,” he can be heard telling officers before the second emergency call came in.
Both men suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries and were taken to local hospitals for treatment, Mentor police said Thursday.
In both cases, the suspect fled.
However, the second victim was able to provide the dispatcher with the car’s license plate number. Police were quickly able to link the vehicle to Leppelmeier.
Another caller, who lives near Leppelmeier, gave officers a tip.
“Our neighbor was acting suspiciously and sped off. Then my mother-in-law called me and said she heard on the police radio that someone had run someone over out in the Headlands and was now back in his driveway,” she said in another 911 call.
Special forces stormed the house after attempts to persuade the suspect to leave peacefully failed, according to police. The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital. He is charged with aggravated assault with a vehicle, three counts of aggravated assault, and robbery.
“His name is Michael Leppelmeier,” the caller said after being asked to identify the neighbor. She also confirmed to officers that his car was a white SUV.
A standoff ensued when SWAT officers finally arrived at the suspect’s house to take him into custody.
The body camera recorded the confrontation. “We need more people down here,” one of the officers can be heard saying after Leppelmeier refused to leave the house.
The white SUV parked in front of the house had “fresh damage on the driver’s side,” and officers noted traces of blood on the center console.
After about five minutes, the suspect came out of the front door and warned the officers not to touch a motorcycle in the garage. He then retreated back inside, according to police.
“Come out and talk to us,” an officer can be heard saying to the suspect in a later section of the released bodycam footage.
Finally, Leppelmeier comes out of the front door again and tells the officer, “You know you’re on illegal property. Leave!” at which point the officer draws his weapon, as the video shows. The officer then orders the suspect to stay away.
According to the video, Leppelmeier refuses. He approaches the officer before the officer fires a Taser at him, which has no effect.
Leppelmeier then retreats back inside the house and barricades the entrances.
Police spent several hours trying to persuade Leppelmeier to surrender and eventually deployed a drone, which was damaged by the suspect, according to a statement.
Officers were only able to enter the house after breaking several windows and doors and using irritants inside.
Leppelmeier was arrested around 6:30 p.m., about eight hours after the alleged encounter with the first victim.
Leppelmeier was taken to Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The suspect is due to appear for a hearing on Monday. He faces charges of aggravated assault with a vehicle, three counts of aggravated assault, and robbery.
The Daily Mail has contacted Mentor Police for comment.
