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Officer Down: Officer Joshua T. Miktarian

Age: 33

Cause of Death: Gunfire

Officer Joshua Miktarian was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop on Glenwood Drive at approximately 2:00 am.

Approximately two minutes after making the initial stop he radioed for assistance. Dispatchers then received several 911 calls reporting gunshots. Responding officers located Officer Miktarian. He was flown to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The suspect was arrested a short time later by members of the Bedford Heights Police Department.

Officer Miktarian had served with the Twinsburg Police Department for 11 years and also served as a part-time officer with the Uniontown Police Department. He is survived by his wife, who is also a police officer, and 3-month-old daughter.

Ohio officer shot, killed in line of duty

By Jesse Tinsley
The Plain Dealer

TWINSBURG, Ohio — He was known as Captain Justice, Mr. Invincible, The Pizza Man, a rock star, comic, husband and father.

Early Sunday morning, Joshua T. Miktarian became the first Twinsburg police officer to be killed on the job.

Ashford Thompson of Twinsburg has been arrested in Miktarian's death and will be charged today.

Dozens of people stopped to place flowers at a curbside memorial Sunday on Glenwood Drive, where Miktarian was shot around 2 a.m.

Those visitors included members of Miktarian's Akron rock band, Barium.

In addition to playing guitar and writing songs for Barium, he worked full time as a Twinsburg police officer and part time at the Uniontown Police Department.

Josh, as his friends called him, also owned a Gionino's Pizza franchise in Sagamore Hills Township.

"He was a genuine person who could make anybody laugh," said Patrick Hill, Barium's bass-guitar player. "He was definitely a goofball."

"He always had these red shoes he would wear to the show," said Carrie Williams, whose husband, Johnathan Williams, is the band's singer.

She said no one could have imagined he was a cop on stage with his piercings and tattoos. But once he put on his police uniform, he was a clean-cut cop.

The band members nicknamed him Captain Justice.

"He was our invincible," Carrie Williams said. "You know that risk is always out there for anyone in fire or police. You just never think it's going to happen to one of your own."

A few years ago, Miktarian found the love of his life, Holly, while on duty. He was on a police chase and Holly, an officer with the Oakwood Police Department, was called in as backup. It was at that scene that something sparked.

Three months ago she gave birth to their daughter, Thea, whom band members said Miktarian adored.

Despite his hectic pace, Miktarian loved spending time cooking in the back yard with his family.

It was sometimes a chaotic scene at his home, his friends said, with his K-9 police dog, Bagio, three other dogs and two cats sharing the Monroe Road home where he grew up.

Bagio will be retired from the K-9 force and given to Miktarian's family.

On Sunday, Carrie Williams was the only one who had spoken to Holly Miktarian. Williams said she was drained and distraught.

"She's doing as well as a wife could be expected to do after losing her husband and her best friend and the father of her 3½ -month-old daughter," Carrie Williams said.

Meanwhile, the band is already making plans to put on a benefit for Miktarian, keep his lawn cut and his driveway clear of snow.

"He was an awesome guy," Carrie Williams said. "It seems so unfair."

Copyright 2008 The Plain Dealer