By Fellicia Smith
The Canton Repository
CANAL FULTON, Ohio — Christopher H. Monihan shot a police officer four times, a crime that could have landed him a life sentence or possibly the death penalty had Officer Ed Harbaugh died.
Harbaugh was fortunate. He survived the 1995 exchange.
Having avoided an aggravated murder charge, the then-23-year-old Monihan was convicted of felonious assault on a peace officer and aggravated robbery. His sentence: A minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 50 years in prison.
Now Monihan is up for parole, and he could be released early unless Harbaugh and fellow officers can convince the parole board otherwise.
PAROLE HEARING
A hearing before the Ohio Parole Board is scheduled for Monday at the Madison Correctional Institution.
Harbaugh learned of it in May through a victim’s advocacy program he signed up for after Monihan was sent to prison.
“I expected it,” Harbaugh said of the hearing. “I knew from the beginning that was a possibility.”
Harbaugh opposes any early release of Monihan — and he’s not alone. The parole board is being bombarded with letters from other local law enforcement personnel requesting that Monihan remain in prison.
“I certainly hope they look at those letters and realize his actions on that day affected a lot of people,” said Lawrence Township Police Chief Mark Brink, who has heard from officers as far away as Columbus who’ve written on Harbaugh’s behalf.
“The idea of someone who wanted to kill a police officer being back on the street, while that officer still has to deal with what happened, makes no sense.”
ROUTINE BUSINESS
April 17, 1995, began like any other day for Harbaugh. The 10-year Canal Fulton Police Department veteran didn’t expect his life to change that night.
Monihan’s car had been repossessed by Skipco Towing. A background check had alerted police to an active warrant out of Springfield Township in Summit County for passing bad checks.
When Monihan went to the impound lot on S. Locust Street to retrieve some items from his vehicle, police were notified. Harbaugh was on duty. He had planned to take Monihan into custody on the warrant.
“You’re lucky to see a person do 30 days in jail (for those charges),” Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh called the Lawrence Township Police Department for backup before going to Skipco. Once at the towing location, Harbaugh asked Monihan to exit the vehicle. Monihan refused. The two struggled, according to statements made by Skipco’s owner.
In a flash, Monihan grabbed Harbaugh’s service revolver and shot him four times. Harbaugh was hit in the left arm. The bullet severed an artery. Another lodged between his heart and lungs.
“He just didn’t try to escape,” said Bath Township Police Chief Michael McNeely, who was the Canal Fulton police chief when Harbaugh was shot. “He tried to kill Ed. Ed saved his own life by crawling under a truck.”
The injuries were severe. He had a rod put in his left arm. He had multiple operations. It took him two years and two days, but Harbaugh returned to the force in 1997.
“He said from the very beginning, if he did not go back, Monihan wins,” Harbaugh’s wife, Jen, said. “That was his determination.”
Recently, the rod implanted in Harbaugh’s left arm broke, requiring another surgery.
“He had surgery all over again,” Jen Harbaugh said. “Thirteen years later, and he’s having to relive the whole nightmare again.”
WHAT NOW
Harbaugh, 47, doesn’t often think about that day in 1995 or of Monihan. His last contact with Monihan was about five years after he was sentenced.
“He wrote a letter one time,” Harbaugh recalled. “He was apologizing and asking me to forgive him and that kind of stuff. I kind of read it over and filed it away.”
Harbaugh didn’t write back. He got on with his life, knowing one day Monihan could be freed.
“I pretty much moved on,” Harbaugh said. “It comes with the territory. It’s always a possibility. You can’t sit around and dwell on it or you get screwed up mentally.”
When the letter came in May alerting the Harbaughs of Monihan’s upcoming hearing, it brought the shooting back to the forefront.
Harbaugh called the parole board to find out what he could do to stop Monihan from being released.
“They said I was allowed to send materials and meet with a parole officer,” Harbaugh said. “I wrote letters. I outlined what happened. I voiced my opinion. He could have had 30 days in jail. He was willing to risk going to jail for the rest of his life for killing an officer.”
Harbaugh didn’t tell anyone except family about Monihan’s parole hearing. Jen Harbaugh called Brink asking for his support, and she e-mailed him the letter she sent to the parole board.
“I sent it to our chiefs’ association for Stark County,” Brink said of the e-mail. “From there it has been sent to numerous other people. I didn’t realize what would happen.”
From judges to the prosecutor’s office to police and fire departments statewide to state representatives, support has poured in for the Harbaughs’ quest to keep Monihan locked up. Harbaugh’s two daughters also wrote letters.
“If we don’t support our fellow officer in this situation, I don’t know when we would,” Brink said.
After Monday’s hearing at the Madison Correctional Institute, the parole board has 30 days to make a decision on whether to grant Monihan’s request for parole. If Monihan gets parole, the Harbaughs have 50 days to appeal.
Copyright 2008 The Canton Repository