HOLLAND, OH (Toledo News Now) - An off-duty Toledo police officer was involved in an altercation at a Kroger grocery store in Holland Saturday.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday, police responded to a weapons call at the Kroger on Spring Meadows Drive.
Robert Adams, 62, of Toledo, said as he arrived at Kroger, he saw a Mercedes Benz parked in the fire lane without its lights on. He said he flashed his vehicle's lights in an attempt to motivate the driver, Jerry Easter, 43, of Maumee, to move the vehicle to a more appropriate location. According to the police report, Easter did move the vehicle, but once Adams parked, he returned to his original location in the fire lane.
Then, the police report says Adams grabbed his ticket book from the back of his vehicle and walked up behind Easter's vehicle to read the license plate. Easter asked Adams what he was doing and Adams told him he was issuing him a parking ticket.
Adams said he knew he had no authority to do so, since he was off duty and out of his jurisdiction, but he was upset Easter was parked in the fire lane.
Around the same time, Easter's wife Trena Cook, 37, left Kroger and began loading groceries into their vehicle. Easter stepped out of the vehicle to take a picture of Adams and then drove by Adams' vehicle to take a picture. This upset Adams and he approached Easter, asking for his ID.
According to the police report, when Easter didn't respond, Adams grabbed his door and pulled it open. Easter shouted an obscenity to Adams, then shut and locked his door. Then, Adams punched and broke the window.
Cook then called police as her husband drove away. Adams reportedly kicked the side and rear of the Mercedes as it left.
Five witnesses saw the incident.
As police spoke with Adams, they said they could smell the odor of intoxication on his breath. However, no alcohol testing was done by the Lucas County Sheriff's Office.
Adams has been with the TPD for 36 years. He was placed on paid leave following the incident.
