By Jesse Tinsley and Brie Zeltner
Cleveland Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cleveland police officer shot his estranged wife Tuesday night and then chased her along Triskett Road on the city’s West Side before shooting himself in the head when officers intervened to end the pursuit.
The off-duty officer, Rex Mehaffey, 46, died at the scene in his car. Police would not identify the officer or the shooting victim, but The Plain Dealer learned their identities through public records.
The officer had served 20 years with the department and had most recently been working at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, according to Lt. Thomas Stacho.
Michelle Mehaffey, 40, was shot in the upper torso and possibly in the head.
She was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center, where she was being treated in the emergency room Tuesday night.
Divorce papers were filed in court on May 11. The couple have a college-age daughter.
Police shut down about a quarter-mile of Triskett between West 140th and West 150th streets for several hours while they investigated.
Police and witnesses said the incident happened this way:
Mehaffey fired two or three shots into his wife’s 2006 Mazda Tribute about 8 p.m. near the intersection of Triskett and Warren roads after a man came to his door and told him his wife had been cheating on him. Mehaffey confronted his wife, then chased her in his car east on Triskett. Witnesses said they saw a woman hysterically calling someone on her phone while her husband followed her in a silver Toyota Corolla.
Police responded to a 9-1-1 call at 8:06 p.m., Stacho said. Witnesses said a police car pulled in front of the man’s car on Triskett near West 140th Street about 8:10 p.m. Mehaffey stopped the car, then shot himself in the head, according to witnesses.
The woman’s car, which had both front passenger and driver windows shattered, stopped about a quarter-mile down the street.
The couple lived on Thorn Ridge Circle off West 194th Street, which is about four miles away from where the shooting occurred. It was Rex Mehaffey’s residence now and the house is up for sale.
Neighbors said they heard a commotion at the couple’s home and tires screeching out of the quiet cul-de-sac shortly before the shooting. Police also investigated the home as a possible crime scene.
Fellow officers, who did not want to be named, said that Mehaffey frequently talked about his wife and how much he loved her. Many officers did not believe this kind of act was in Mehaffey’s nature.
Copyright 2007 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.