Andrew Davison gets 39-to-44 1/2 years in prison for courtroom brawl with police

ELYRIA — A defiant Andrew Davison said little Wednesday as a judge sentenced him to nearly 40 years in prison for attacking and injuring an Elyria police officer and two Lorain County sheriff's deputies in a courtroom brawl in June. Following a two-and-a-half-day trial, a jury of 10 women and two men deliberated for less than two hours before finding Davison, 43, guilty of two counts of felonious assault on a law enforcement officer, both first-degree felonies, and one count of assault on a law enforcement officer, a fourth-degree felony. They also found him guilty of two repeat violent offender specifications, which mean more mandatory prison time with no early release. Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Giovanna Bremke immediately sentenced Davison to an indefinite term of 39-to-44½ years in prison for assaulting Elyria police Sgt. Mike Walker and sheriff's deputies Jeff Smith and Christopher Schmidt in Judge Christopher Rothgery's courtroom on June 12. Davison, who slumped in his seat as Bremke read the verdicts and appeared bored, objected to going directly to sentencing. He was defending himself in court. As she did many times over the previous two-and-a-half days, Bremke overruled him. With Wednesday's prison sentence added to the 18 years Davison already is serving for attempted murder and drug trafficking, he will not be eligible for release for at least 58 years. The repeat violent offender, or RVO, specifications added to his sentence 16 mandatory years with no possibility of early release. Davison, who tried to hide his face from a Chronicle-Telegram photographer and turned to face the courtroom wall during sentencing, said he plans to appeal. During the trial, Davison was argumentive and disruptive. He verbally insulted witnesses, prosecutors and the judge, alleged all were part of a conspiracy against him and made nonsense objections. Davison testified Tuesday in his own defense that he is a target of the countywide law enforcement "gang" and that he only fought the deputies in self-defense. He also testified Tuesday that he wanted Smith to shoot and kill him. Davison refused to dress in regular clothes for the assault trial, opting for a jail uniform, and sat through the entire trial in a wheelchair with an alleged ankle injury. Attorney Matt Bobrowski was Davison's "stand-by" counsel, ready to assist him if needed. Davison "is never going to stop" committing crimes, Lorain County Prosecutor Tony Cillo said in court. Schmidt and Smith didn't come to court for the verdict and sentencing, and Walker chose not to give a victim impact statement. Elyria Police Chief James Welsh was in court to support Walker. "Sgt. Walker's bravery and quick reaction that day was necessary to protect himself, fellow officers and to save others from being injured," Welsh said in a news release posted to his department's Facebook page Wednesday afternoon. Calling Walker a "great asset to the Elyria PD," Welsh thanked Cillo for handling the case personally. "Davison is a career criminal and a danger to the community. He doesn't accept any responsibility for the crimes he's committed," Welsh wrote in the Facebook post. "Our community is safer with Davison serving a lengthy prison sentence, and justice was served." Davison assaulted the deputies after Rothgery sentenced him on June 12 to 10 to 15 years in prison for attempted murder for stabbing and cutting a man with a knife in Elyria in 2024. Walker testified that he intervened when Davison told the deputies they'd have to kill him before he would go back to jail. The 6-foot-3, 315-pound Davison punched Schmidt, wrestled with Smith, then traded punches with Walker and tried to gouge the detective's eyes out with his thumbs. Walker bit Davison on the head in response. Smith put Davison in a lateral vascular neck restraint or "sleeper hold" to get him to comply or go unconscious, while Schmidt shocked Davison with a Taser device. Unable to see clearly, Walker got on top of Davison and struck him in the head to get him to stop resisting. Deputies and probation officers swarmed the courtroom and helped get Davison into custody. The incident was caught on court surveillance video and on a Chronicle reporter's cellphone. Walker, Smith and Davison all were hospitalized. Walker had eye injuries, a dislocated finger, a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder and knee injuries that required dozens of medical appointments and several surgeries. He now needs glasses to see, testified with his right arm in a sling after a recent surgery and has not returned to full police duty. Smith had four fractured ribs and a cracked sternum. He returned to work after more than a month off. Davison had a bloody bite mark on his head, a swollen black eye and a Taser probe stuck in his skin. A Lorain County Sheriff's Office investigation found no excessive force was used to subdue Davison, who was under special security measures for this and his drug trafficking trial in September. Davison was fitted with a special electrical restraint device called a Band-It for trial. The device allowed sheriff's Inspector Ryan Kolegar to press a button and deliver a 50,000-volt shock to incapacitate Davison if he got violent. Multiple armed, uniformed sheriff's deputies were in the courtroom at any given time for the trial in case of a violent outburst. Leaving court, Walker told a reporter that Davison has a violent reputation even among other offenders. "He's one of those guys that even other criminals think is dangerous," Walker said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.