Video shows altercation inside Toledo jail before officer fatally shoots Warren murder suspect

Damon Barstad accused of killing grandmother

TOLEDO, Ohio – New video shows an altercation inside a Toledo jail that led to an officer fatally shooting a man suspected of murder in Michigan last year.

Damon Austin Barstad, 23, was arrested in Toledo in connection with his grandmother's murder at her home in Warren. He was extradited from Ohio to Michigan and charged with first-degree murder.

MORE: Man suspected of killing grandmother in Warren fatally shot by Toledo police

Barstad is accused of stabbing Rene Morrisette, 68, to death Dec. 15, 2018. She was found in a recycling bin in her home's detached garage. 

Security footage from inside the Toledo Public Safety Building shows Barstad rushing an officer. Several officers push him into a holding cell, but he gets ahold of an offiicer's Taser, leading to an officer taking out his gun.

Carl Schwirzinski, 42, fatally shot Barstad. He was cleared of charges by a grand jury.


About the Authors

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.

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