Motive unclear in fatal ambush on Lorain police officers

LORAIN — The motive behind a Lorain man's ambush of Lorain police officers that left one dead and two injured remains unknown. Michael Parker, 28, lay in wait on a dead-end street on Lorain's east side Wednesday afternoon and opened fire on officers Phillip Wagner, Peter Gale and Brent Payne when they arrived in the Colorado Avenue Industrial Park off River Bend Drive. Wagner, 35, died Thursday of his injuries. Payne suffered multiple gunshot wounds and remains at Cleveland's MetroHealth Medical Center. Gale was shot in the hand and treated at Mercy Health Hospital in Lorain. Parker was shot and killed by Lorain police at the scene Wednesday. Elyria police continue to investigate the incident, Elyria Police Chief James Welsh said, declining to speculate on Parker's motives until further information was available. Elyria is handling the case as departments do not handle such investigations when their own department is involved. "This incident has deeply impacted all of us in law enforcement," Welsh said in a news release. "Our hearts are with the officers who were injured, their families, and the entire Lorain Police Department during this incredibly difficult time." Ambush Wagner and Gale pulled off River Bend Drive in the Colorado Industrial Park to split a pizza for lunch just after 1 p.m. Wednesday when Parker reportedly opened fire with an "arsenal of weapons." A transcript of scanner traffic tell of a chaotic scene with calls for shots fired and an active shooter armed with a rifle as officers began to pour into the Industrial Park. Gunshots can be heard in the background of officers' radio calls to one another. "Where you saw me fall, I moved into the woods … get me the f*** out of here," one of the injured officers said, his breathing labored. Other officers responded, "We're coming buddy, we're coming." Another officer said, "We got you buddy, we're coming." Officers called for a transport car and threw the injured men in the back of their cruisers. Payne, according to the traffic, had a gunshot wound to the arm and leg and was alert when transported. As other officers drove over the Henderson Bridge they said they had an "officer with a headshot … Get Metro (LifeFlight) in the air immediately." The scene created confusion as it was unclear in the immediate aftermath of the shooting whether Parker was the lone gunman. Lorain police SWAT combed the woods between the Industrial Park and Camaco and boats took to the water to search for a potential second gunman. Early Wednesday evening, Welsh confirmed Parker acted alone. Elyria police were out until about 1 a.m. Thursday, and on scene again later that morning, to collect evidence from the area, Welsh said. His officers are still cataloging firearms — including rifles, handguns, ammunition and improvised explosive devices — and shell casings collected from the area, including the three police vehicles involved. The bombs were removed from the scene and disposed of via controlled detonation on Wednesday. Who was Michael Parker? Little is known about the lone gunman who allegedly opened fire on the officers. He and his family have little social media presence. Parker did not attend Lorain Schools, Superintendent Jeff Graham said on Thursday. An online list of 2025 Lorain County Community College graduates shows he earned a "certificate of completion." He has no criminal history in Lorain County outside of three traffic tickets, the most recent of those issued in 2022 and 2023. It was Wagner who cited Parker with leaving the scene of an accident and going left of center, both misdemeanor traffic offenses, on Nov. 9, 2022, after Parker allegedly clipped motorcyclist Chad Finley of Lorain with his mirror during a collision. Attorney Kenneth Lieux, who represented Parker on the traffic offenses in court, said the leaving the scene of an accident charge was dismissed in May 2023 by Judge Mark Mihok. Parker paid $317 in fines and court costs, according to court records. Lieux said there was "no bad blood" between Parker and Wagner. That the officer Parker allegedly shot was one who had ticketed him in the past appeared to be just a coincidence, the attorney said. "There was no issue with the officer three years ago," Lieux said. Finley sued Parker and Instacart for negligence, personal injury and other alleged injuries in February 2023 in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. He demanded more than $275,000 in damages, according to a copy of the lawsuit reviewed by The Chronicle-Telegram. The case was settled and closed in May 2024, according to court records, which did not list the amount of the settlement. Elyria police searched his Lakeview Boulevard home evening Wednesday evening. Current and former neighbors confirmed Parker lived there with his parents, and that he used to walk his dog on a nearby beach at sunset every day. His family members were seen crying and embracing one another, surrounded by police officers, during the search on Wednesday. Parker is the grandson of former Lorain Mayor William Parker, a councilman for 18 years and mayor from 1980 to 1984, according to William Parker's obituary.Previous police shootings It has been 15 years since a Lorain County police officer has died while on duty. Elyria police Officer James Kerstetter, 43, was shot and killed March 15, 2010. He had responded to a disturbance on 18th Street where a neighbor said a man had exposed himself to a child and kicked in her window. Gunman Ronald Palmer shot and wounded Kerstetter, who was able to radio for backup. Palmer was killed by responding Elyria police. Kerstetter died at University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center. Shelby Constantino, Kerstetter's daughter, said in a Facebook post Thursday that she had hoped her father's name would be the last engraved on the county's police memorial in downtown Elyria. "These men weren't responding to a call, they were ordering out for lunch. ... This is a disgusting, heinous act and I still don't understand how someone has the capacity to do this," she wrote. She implored the community to continue to show up and stand behind the officers involved. "The world needs to do better, but it's not about the world we live in, or even the shooter,'' she wrote. "Everyone is baffled by this and you will get answers, but in this moment, it doesn't matter. Right now, it's about Phillip Wagner, Brent Payne and Peter Gale." Lorain police last had officers injured in the line of duty on Jan. 9, 1969, when Michael Yuhas and David Rakich responded to a marital dispute around 1 p.m. in which a husband had abducted his estranged wife. The man, Walter Layne, pulled out a concealed weapon while officers were searching him and fired point-blank at Yuhas and Rakich. Both were hospitalized and eventually recovered from their injuries. The only Lorain police officer to be shot and killed in the line of duty died more than 101 years ago. Patrolman Fred Webber was shot and killed on Dec. 22, 1923, while trying to arrest a drunken man at a restaurant on Broadway, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page online database. Since October 2022, Lorain police have shot three men, killing two. On Oct. 7, 2024, Lorain police Officer Isaiah Taylor shot robbery suspect Dustin Terry four times after Terry allegedly pointed a gun at another officer. Terry, 26, survived his wounds, pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and other charges in Lorain County Common Pleas Court and was sentenced to five years in prison. Two years earlier to the day, on Oct. 7, 2022, Officer Taylor, Officer Tyler Rospert and Sgt. Martin Carreon shot Christopher Boggess 10 times after he pulled a handgun on them outside the Evergreen Village Apartments leasing office on Meister Road. Boggess, 49, had threatened security officers at Lorain City Hall the day before and shot at a passing vehicle. On July 30, 2022, Officer Kyle Shawver shot and killed Charles White after White refused to come out of a West 20th Street basement, then stabbed and wounded Shawver's K-9, Rye. Shawver shot White, 48, of Lorain five times in the chest — the first time in 10 years Lorain police had shot anyone, and the first time in 20 years they had killed a suspect. The Lorain County Prosecutor's Office ruled all three shootings justified. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.