North Olmsted officers fatally shoot Elyria man; BCI investigating

North Olmsted police shot and killed an Elyria man early Saturday morning in a case now being investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. North Olmsted police said officers were called to Alden Drive just before 2 a.m. Saturday. When the officers arrived, they exchanged gunshots with a man later identified as Thomas Nock, 27, of Elyria. Nock was shot multiple times and taken to Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital in Cleveland where he died Sunday, according to North Olmsted police and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office. A North Olmsted police officer was shot twice during the gun battle, rushed to University Hospitals St. John Medical Center in Westlake by Westlake police officers, treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released, according to North Olmsted Police Chief Bob Wagner. At a news conference Monday, Wagner said the officer was hit twice by bullets: Once in the arm, and then in the chest. The round that hit him in the chest was stopped by a bulletproof vest. It hit the officer right over the top of his heart, Wagner said. North Olmsted Detective Sgt. Matt Beck told members of the media at the news conference that the vest definitely saved the officer's life. The injured officer has been with North Olmsted police since August 2021. Wagner called Saturday morning's phone call informing him that one of his officers had been shot "one of the worst calls a police chief can get." He said he visited the unnamed officer both in the hospital and again Monday as he recovered at home with his family. The house at 28456 Alden Drive had been found fully engulfed in flames. At the address, first responders found 52-year-old Christopher Torrisi dead. His body also was taken to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy. An earlier news release said that a woman told officers that a man had approached her shortly before 1:40 a.m. Saturday and said someone was trying to kill his uncle. The woman told officers that the man, who was transported to a hospital with unknown injuries, had blood on him and gave an address in the 28000 block of Alden Drive before walking away. Other officers and firefighters from North Ridgeville, Bay Village, Westlake, Fairview Park, Rocky River and Olmsted Township also responded to the scene and assisted North Olmsted police, according to the news release. Wagner said his department believes Torrisi was shot and the house then set on fire. His detectives and the Ohio State Fire Marshal are investigating the fire, he said. "I want to reassure all of our residents that safety continues to be a top priority of my administration," North Olmsted Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones said. She called the shooting and house fire a "regrettable situation" and commended first responders for their quick response and "all they do to keep our residents safe on a daily basis." The city has had a "long history" dealing with the house at 28456 Alden Drive, Dailey Jones said. "Our police department is very familiar with those involved in what happened," she said. Wagner said Torrisi had a long criminal history, and that officers had been called out to the Alden Drive residence many times over his 25-year career in North Olmsted. North Olmsted officers dealt with Nock on "a few occasions" since this summer, Wagner said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.