An assistant prosecutor in Ohio has been fired over a road rage incident, during which he allegedly bit off the finger of another motorist.
The roadside altercation unfolded in the early hours of June 30 in Riverside, some 200 miles southwest of Cleveland.
Officers were called to the scene on Woodman Drive at the overpass of US 35 to investigate reports of a “fight in progress,” according to an incident report obtained by Daytona Daily News. Police said they received multiple calls from passersby saying that “one of the subjects had the other in a headlock.”
When authorities arrived around 12:32 a.m., they were met by a blood-covered man, whose name has not been released. He said his “finger was bitten off” in a confrontation with another driver, who has since been identified as Christopher Murray.
Until recently, Murray had served as Greene County assistant prosecutor.
A simple honk apparently sparked the incident.
Murray had been in the car ahead of the victim, stopped at the time at a traffic light, and failed to drive upon the light changing to green, the motorist told police. He then honked, prompting Murray to exit his vehicle and things quickly escalated from there, according to the report.
A piece of the victim’s finger was located not far from where his vehicle was parked, WDTN reported. It had been severed at the distal interphalangeal joint, which is right above the knuckle near the tip of the finger, just before the nail begins, per Law & Crime.
Murry was first put on leave but then fired.
Police said Murray left the scene and he has not been arrested or charged in connection with the incident. He has, however, lost his job.
“As Greene County Prosecuting Attorney, I became aware on July 8 of an ongoing criminal investigation in Montgomery County regarding my employee Christopher Murray,” said Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes.
“Murray has been on leave since July 9 from his position as an assistant prosecutor in Greene County,” he continued. “He has not been in the office, or representing my office in court, since July 9.”
Hayes confirmed Murray has since been fired.
-by Jessica Schladebeck
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