Hocking County Sheriff's deputy, K-9 officer struck during alleged standoff with Logan man
On Sunday, July 30, deputies from the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office responded to a domestic violence call at a residence on Bremen Road in Logan. The caller stated Steven Hardbarger, a 44-year-old male, had a gun and was allegedly threatening to kill other family members.
When deputies arrived at the residence, an adult female and a juvenile female were able to flee the residence and were taken to a secure area. A juvenile male was unaccounted for at that time.
Hardbarger allegedly started firing at uniformed deputies with at least one firearm from inside and or around the residence.
During the alleged discharging of the firearm(s) by Hardbarger, at least one round struck a deputy in the hip area.
A deputy used a rifle to provide cover fire, while other deputies extracted the deputy who had been struck to a safer location. The deputy who had been struck drove the adult female and juvenile female away from the scene to meet with Hocking County Emergency Medical Services.
The suspect allegedly continued to fire additional rounds at deputies and other law enforcement officers that arrived on the scene for emergency assistance.
The projectiles fired by the suspect allegedly struck several Hocking County Sheriff’s Office cruisers and two Logan Police Department cruisers. One of the Logan Police Department cruisers that were struck contained a Logan Police K-9 officer, who was injured by one of the projectiles.
The suspect, Hardbarger, was taken into custody at approximately 8:53 p.m. and transported to the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail. The Hocking County Sheriff’s Office is investigating this incident with the assistance of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Hocking County Prosecutors Office.
Criminal charges for Hardbarger have been forwarded to the Hocking County Courts.
The injured deputy and K9 officer have been medically treated, released and are recovering at home.
Sheriff North and Chief Mellinger would like to express their gratitude and appreciation to the responders and other involved agencies for their support during this challenging incident: Ohio State Highway Patrol, Hocking County 911 Dispatchers, Hocking County Emergency Medical Services, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, Hocking County Prosecutor’s Office, Athens County Sheriff’s Office, Perry County Sheriff’s Office, New Lexington Police Department, Somerset Police Department, Marion TWP Fire Department and Hocking County EMA.