The death of an armed sexual assault suspect during a confrontation with Genoa Township police and other law enforcement – which police reported as a suicide – has been ruled a homicide by the Franklin County Coroner's Office.
Gaelan Pinchot, 28, died Aug. 15 after a Genoa Township police officer shot him when they attempted to arrest him as he put a gun to his head at Sharon Woods Metro Park. Pinchot was a suspect in a sexual assault that police said happened earlier that day.
After the victim reported the sexual assault, a township officer spotted Pinchot's car and attempted to pull him over. Pinchot drove into Sharon Woods Metro Park and parked his vehicle. He then got out while holding a gun to his head, police said.
Dash camera footage shows
officers trying to convince Pinchot to put down the gun and surrender, police said. According to Genoa Township police Chief James McMillin, officers spent around 45 minutes trying to convince Pinchot to drop the gun and surrender.
Pinchot "repeatedly set the gun down and stepped away, only to pick it back up, pace, make erratic movements, and return it to his head," McMillin said. At one point, the chief said, Pinchot checked the gun's chamber and made statements about hurting people.
Pinchot eventually dropped the gun again, and five officers began approaching him, the footage shows. Pinchot suddenly bent over and picked the weapon. A Genoa Township officer fired a Taser device to try and subdue Pinchot, but it failed, according to police and video footage.
Pinchot then put the gun to his head and fired about the same time as a Genoa Township police officer fired a single shot, the video shows. Pinchot collapsed into the grass. Officers and medics rendered aid, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. A
In a recorded video statement days after the shooting, Chief McMillin said that Pinchot's death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. But a Franklin County Coroner's report released Aug. 28 ruled the death a homicide.
According to the coroner's report, Pinchot shot himself "almost simultaneously" as the Genoa Township officer shot him.
"After careful review of body-worn camera footage, the first shot that was fired was from law enforcement as [Pinchot] began to stand and reach for his firearm," the report states. "The circumstances surrounding the death, as determined by the investigative and postmortem findings, indicate that the manner of death is Homicide."
In a statement to The Dispatch, McMillin said: "The coroner's preliminary report doesn't answer whether our officer's actions were justified." He said whether the Genoa Township officer's actions were justified is to be determined by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
"What I do know is that a woman reported she'd been raped at gunpoint and our officers quickly found the suspect," McMillin said, referring to Pinchot. He also said that officers repeatedly pleaded with Pinchot to put the gun down, and when he did, he reached for it again as officers were moving in to arrest him.
"Every officer in Ohio is trained the same way: when someone reaches for a gun and your life is in danger, you use deadly force," McMillin said. "I'll reserve judgment on this tragic incident until the investigation is complete."
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Coroner rules shooting death of Genoa Twp. rape suspect a homicide by officer
