Authorities have identified the man fatally shot by police following a lengthy SWAT standoff Tuesday at the intersection of Tiedeman Road and I-480 in Brooklyn.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner confirmed the man as 45-year-old Patrick Kerr of Cleveland. Kerr was shot by a tactical officer after allegedly exiting his vehicle with a firearm in hand, according to police.
The incident began just before 11 a.m. when Parma Heights Police attempted to stop a black Ford F-150 pickup truck. The pursuit ended in a crash at the busy intersection involving two other vehicles. Emergency crews responded to treat three individuals injured in the collision, who were later transported to a local hospital. Their conditions have not been released.
Authorities said Kerr, the driver of the pickup, remained in the vehicle following the crash and was reportedly armed. For more than four hours, law enforcement—including SWAT teams—attempted to negotiate with him. According to police, Kerr held a gun to his head and had previously expressed intentions of dying by “suicide by cop.”
Officers approached the scene using armored vehicles due to the potential threat. When Kerr allegedly emerged from the truck holding a weapon, a tactical officer fired. Kerr was transported to MetroHealth Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
During the initial response, police also discovered one fatality among the occupants of a second vehicle involved in the crash. The Medical Examiner later identified that individual as 62-year-old Ronald James Liszka.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) is handling the officer-involved shooting investigation, while the events leading up to the pursuit and crash are being reviewed by Parma and Brooklyn police departments.
The investigation remains ongoing.