Elyria police chief previously acquitted officers who stormed a house and arrested a man without a warrant

ELYRIA, Ohio (WOIO) – 19 Investigates showed you for the first time how three Elyria police officers stormed into a man's home and arrested him without a warrant.

We now learn that before we intervened, the police chief had cleared the officers of the charge of using excessive force when using the Taser against the man.

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However, a new investigation found that two of those officers had violated a number of rules and regulations, and some are wondering why the chief did not notice this during the initial review of the incident.

19 Investigates has obtained the Action Response Report, which is essentially a use of force form, that Officer Paige Mitchell submitted to justify the Taser attack on Raul Ortiz on May 11, 2023.

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This form shows that Police Chief William Pelko cleared the officers of any wrongdoing related to the Taser just days after the incident.

Pelko noted that “body-worn camera footage was reviewed” – and that officers “followed protocol.”

So if the chief was reviewing the officers' conduct prior to the altercation, why did he wait a year to investigate their actions?

“You saw the body cam, you should have seen it from beginning to end,” said Ortiz's attorney Tony Nici. “You should have known then that there were violations of many, many policies.”

PREVIOUS STORY: Police in Elyria storm a man's home and arrest him without a warrant

During a scuffle with police, bodycam video shows Ortiz briefly grabbing a police officer's taser and then dropping it.

Ortiz says he was concerned that it might interfere with his recently implanted pacemaker. But Ortiz has always stressed that the officers had no right to enter his home in the first place – and that they were the ones breaking the law.

“What I really want is justice,” Ortiz said.

The officers involved were Colty Hersh, Paige Mitchell and Chris Lewis.

Nici contacted 19 Investigates last April – almost a year after Ortiz’s arrest on May 11, 2023.

We then revealed how police handled the situation, which began when officers met Ortiz's ex-girlfriend, Brittany Warner.

She explained to officers that she was leaving Ortiz, had been living in the house, and now wanted to go back in to get her things.

What Warner did not tell officers was that she had already moved out early that morning and left her keys with the homeowner.

In Officer Mitchell's bodycam footage, she can be heard telling Warner that she has the right to break into his house.

“You've lived here, so if you want to kick down the door and go in and get your things, you're welcome to do so,” Mitchell is heard telling Warner.

“It has a deadbolt lock,” Warner replied.

“Any door can be kicked down depending on how hard you work at it,” Mitchell said.

Warner is then seen kicking the door down as officers follow her inside.

Hersh and Lewis immediately go upstairs to meet Ortiz, who is standing on the second-floor landing. An officer has his gun drawn.

After a struggle with the police officers, Ortiz manages to snatch the taser from Mitchell, but he quickly drops it again.

He tells them about his pacemaker, but Mitchell tasers him anyway. Ortiz is then arrested and charged with five felonies, including three counts of assault on a police officer.

Nici then filed several requests to obtain the officers' bodycam video, but the EPD claimed that, for technical reasons, only Mitchell's footage was saved.

Ortiz wonders what would have happened if the department had lost its video too.

“I would serve 36 years in prison for five serious crimes and would still be incarcerated today,” Ortiz said.

Records show that Elyria Security Services Director Chris Pyanowski directed Pelko to investigate the officer's actions eight days after 19 Investigates first reported the incident.

On August 1, 2024, Pelko concluded his three-month investigation and found that two officers had indeed violated several police conduct policies.

Pelko charged Officer Hersh with four violations, including “inadequate performance” and “arrest, search and seizure.”

The police chief recommended that Hersh be suspended for 30 days – with 10 days of time already served – because Hersh admitted that “in hindsight” he should not have entered Ortiz's home.

There is no record of Officer Lewis violating police procedures, but Pelko found that veteran Officer Paige Mitchell violated ten department policies.

These included “compliance with the law,” “arrest, search and seizure,” “on-site questioning and pat-down,” and “truthfulness.”

Pelko recommended Mitchell's termination. That decision ultimately rests with Pyanowski, who ordered Mitchell to surrender her badge and service weapon, but she is permitted to take paid administrative leave pending a review of the chief's investigation.

Ortiz now wonders how many other people out there have been arrested and charged for crimes they did not commit.

“When I came to you, everything is changing,” Ortiz said. “Now everyone says, 'Oh, cops are being fired, this and that is happening here and there.' I think, 'Good! That's what needs to happen.'”

19 Investigates emailed Pyanowski questions about the case, but he said he could not comment due to pending litigation.

Meanwhile, Ortiz has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city of Elyria and the Elyria Police Department.

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