White Off-Duty Cop Killed and 4 People Wounded by Unruly Black Bar Customer

Cleveland
November 18, 2014

The first time Kenan Ivery walked into Papa Don’s Pub late Saturday night, police said he was unruly. When he came in a second time, he pulled out a gun and eventually shot five people, killing one off-duty Akron police officer, wounding another, and seriously injuring three customers, police said.

Justin Winebrenner, 32, died after he was shot in the torso trying to escort Ivery from the bar about 2 a.m. Sunday, Akron police Chief James Nice said at an afternoon press conference.

Winebrenner went to a fundraiser earlier that evening. He made a brief pit stop before going to Papa Don’s Pub, Nice said.

Ivery, 35, also went to the fundraiser, but Nice said investigators do not believe Ivery followed Winebrenner to the bar. Nice declined to provide details about the fundraiser or elaborate on the extent to which the men knew one another.

Toward the end of the night, Nice said Ivery, 35, came into the Papa Don’s and was being unruly. The bar’s management asked Ivery to leave, and he did. But he returned a short time later and drew a gun.

Frightened, the bar’s customers looked to Winebrenner — who was engaged to an employee there and therefore a familiar face — for help.

Winebrenner approached Ivery to “deal with him as a law enforcement officer,” Nice said without going into more detail. Ivery opened fire, hitting Winebrenner, the second off-duty Akron officer, and three customers.

Nice said investigators do not yet know how many shots Ivery fired, or if Winebrenner returned fire at any point.

Nice declined to release the names of the others injured, including the second officer. The three customers injured suffered potentially life-threatening injuries, and the second officer sustained very minor injuries.

Ivery fled the bar on foot, and Akron police officers launched a manhunt for the 35 year old. K-9 officers sniffed him out a short time later lying down in an empty field by a rail yard less than a mile from the bar, Capt. Daniel Zampelli said.

Detectives also recovered what they believe was the gun Ivery used in the shooting, police said.