Cop Who Shot & Paralyzed Unarmed Motorcyclist Has Felony Conviction Reversed

The criminal conviction of a former Ottawa Hills police officer seen on video shooting a motorcyclist in the back has been reversed and a new trial ordered, the Ohio 6th District Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

Thomas White, 30, was found guilty in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on May 14, 2010, of felonious assault with a gun specification for the May, 2009, shooting of Michael McCloskey. The bullet severed Mr. McCloskey’s spine, paralyzing him from the waist down.

White, a part-time police officer at the time, was sentenced in June, 2010, to 10 years in prison but has remained free on $100,000 bond pending his appeal. He has since moved from Toledo and could not be reached for comment Friday.

Mr. McCloskey also could not be reached for comment. His mother, Darlene Thorn, said that the family wanted to digest the information first.

“I just feel like I hit a brick wall,” she said. “How can this be?”

In the 2-1 opinion, the appellate court reversed White’s conviction and remanded it back to common pleas court for a new trial. The panel ruled that the jury was not given proper instructions of law and so did not have proper information before deliberations.