The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday approved three charges against Sides’ fiance, Conrad E. Davis, 27, of Cookeville, Tenn. He faces two counts of felonious assault on a police officer and one count of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.
A prosecutor’s spokesman said more charges could be coming against Davis and that authorities continue to investigate. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office — the agency handling the criminal and internal probes for Brookville police — said it would not comment due to the active investigation.
More than two days after the incident, dash-cam video from Brookville police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol have not yet been released to this newspaper — despite Ohio’s open records law detailing such records as public. Neither has the OSHP released its report and narrative from the attempted traffic stop that kicked off Monday night’s chain of events.
Questions remain
A 911 caller told dispatchers she was eating in a restaurant parking lot when “I saw a car go airborne over, they was exiting like the highway ramp after I heard some sirens.” The caller said the car went into some trees behind Wendy’s on Arlington Road.
“I know at least one girl is OK ‘cause she’s out of the car and she’s running back up to the car. I don’t know if they’re hiding from somebody or if she’s trying to call for help or what, but I don’t want to approach them,” the caller continued, adding that a law enforcement vehicle went past the Interstate 70 exit near where the driver crashed. “The girl is up on the highway waving down a ride. She’s running from the cops. She’s running toward McDonald’s across the street.”
The parking lot at Speedway near McDonald’s is where shots were fired, Sides was located and Edds was shot in the arm. Davis allegedly fled in a Subaru Forester, which was found in a nearby pond early Tuesday. Davis was apprehended after being found hiding in a resident’s camper. He was booked into jail Tuesday morning.
Law enforcement officials have not addressed who shot in which direction, whose bullets hit Edds and Sides or if officers acted in accordance with department policy.
Sides was ‘mother, friend, sister’
Friends of Sides told the newspaper they too were unsure what led to the woman’s death.
“I’m still confused on what happened and what led to this tragedy,” said Tyniya Haney, a friend who said she’d known Sides for 16 years and whose daughter is close with Sides’ daughters. “Please don’t let them slaughter her name. Before she was anything bad, she is a person, a mother, good friend, sister. Where we are from, we are family.”
Sides braided hair for income, Haney said, and stayed busy with her children.
Haney said in the few times she’d met Davis that he was a good guy who loved Sides and her children. Haney said she knew Davis had a job offer in New York and that Sides’ brother told her Sides was out of town when she talked to him about her daughter’s upcoming birthday party.
“Her and her brother were very close they would do anything for each other; they just lost their mom two years ago,” Haney said. “She has three beautiful babies — two girls and a son — and was a great mom.”
Sides died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. Toxicology results will take several weeks to produce, the office said.
Haney said Sides didn’t have the best childhood and that Sides hadn’t been in serious trouble since 2006, when she was indicted in an attempted robbery in Cincinnati.
Felony charge in Ohio dismissed
Hamilton County court records obtained by this newspaper show Sides was accused of aiding an unidentified male suspect during a robbery at the Super 8 Motel at 330 Glensprings Drive in Cincinnati.
Court documents said that at 4:30 a.m. March 24, 2006, Sides had a conversation with two males and that she agreed to go to their motel room, where she talked with them.
“The defendant left the hotel room and said she would be right back,” an affidavit said. “The defendant came back and as she entered the room the male suspect entered behind her.
“The male suspect was armed with a silver handgun. The male suspect demanded money and struck one of the victims repeatedly causing injuries to the victim. (Sides) hung up the room’s telephone to prevent the other victim from calling for help.”
The complaint filed by Cincinnati police said Sides was handed money and fled with the male suspect. It states she was identified in photographic line-ups and cell phone records showed she was in contact with the victims.
A warrant was issued for her arrest April 13, 2006. On May 13 of that year, Sides was indicted for aggravated robbery and other charges and had a bond set at $10,000. A bill of particulars was filed July 6, but the case was dismissed Aug. 17, 2006 “for want of prosecution.”
Sides also had several misdemeanor cases in Putnam County, Tenn., where her residence of Cookeville is located. Many were for minor traffic violations, but she also had cases for shoplifting, bad checks, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest. A warrant for Sides’ arrest was issued Nov. 23, 2015 for failing to appear for an Nov. 16, 2015 court appearance.
Officers have good reviews
Brookville has 11 full-time officers, seven part-time officers and one full-time detective, according to its web page.
Both Brookville officers who fired shots — Frank Graci and Edds, who was shot and wounded — were working part-time hours before the incident and are on paid administrative leave, according to payroll records obtained by the Dayton Daily News.
Brookville officials did not reply to a request for an update on Edds’ medical status. On Tuesday, the city’s police chief said Graci was in “good spirits” and stable condition at Miami Valley Hospital.
Graci, 45, and Edds, 58, each received marks in the proficient to excellent ranges on their most recent performance evaluations. Their personnel files illustrate officers who received praise from within the department and from the greater community.
“Officer Edds gets along well with fellow employees and the public,” wrote supervisors in 2013. “He willingly works any shift he is able to and does an excellent job with firearms training.”
Edds graduated from Dixie High School in 1976. For 28 years he has served in the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office as the geographical information system manager, according to Auditor Karl Keith.
In 1997, Edds began serving part-time with the New Lebanon Police Department. He joined the Brookville department in September 2002. His 2015 performance review states he returned to work in September that year “after being off for almost a year,” although the records do not illustrate the nature of his absence.
Graci, who is an owner of The Flying Pizza in Dayton, is a 1990 Centerville High School Graduate who completed police coursework at Sinclair Community College in 1996. He was sworn-in as a Brookville officer that year.
Graci’s personnel file contains several commendations for his work, including a 1999 recognition of heroism from the Ohio House of Representatives for entering a burning home and rescuing an elderly couple and their pet. The legislature characterized Graci as “one of Ohio’s finest citizens.”
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