New information released in Marion officer-involved shooting

The suspect who was shot by a Marion police officer Saturday remained hospitalized Monday and has not yet been charged with a crime.

Christopher A. Lang, 41, of Marion, was shot in the right side of his torso after he ignored eight to 10 police commands to drop the hammer and broken bottle he was holding, police said. Officers had been called to his residence at 925 10th St. and determined Lang had assaulted three people before they confronted him.

Police on Monday said Lang assaulted a female roommate, the roommate's teenage son and the roommate's sister before police arrived. None of the injuries were serious.

Marion Police Chief Harry Daugherty on Monday refused to release the name of the officer who fired the shot, citing an active investigation.

“We'll wait until the investigation is complete before we even entertain the idea of that,” Daugherty said. “Until the officer-involved shooting team has completed its review, it wouldn't be a very smart thing to do.”

Daugherty said Lang's injuries were not life-threatening, but he was still hospitalized at St. Luke's Hospital on Monday. Upon his release following a psychological exam, Lang will be arrested on suspicion of assault with a weapon on a peace officer, assault with a weapon, two counts of assault with injury and interference with official acts, police said.

Meanwhile, the officer who fired the gunshot that hit Lang has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is normal protocol. A review board of three or four Marion police commanders has started an investigation to determine if proper policies were followed, and will make a recommendation to Daugherty, who has the final say.

Preliminarily, Daugherty said it appears the use of force was justified, after the use of a Taser failed to subdue Lang. Lang tried to strike officers with the hammer before the shot was fired, he said.

“If there is any inclination of any kind of a problem, where policies weren't followed, I'll refer it to our internal affairs bureau,” Daugherty said.

Lang spent almost eight years in prison after he was convicted of vehicular homicide while under the influence and serious injury by vehicle following a crash in 1998. Prosecutors said Lang was driving drunk when he crossed the center line near Victor and hit a vehicle driven by Angela Fiser, 21, of Victor.

Fiser was killed in the crash, and her 2-year-old son was seriously injured.

Lang was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but had his sentence reduced for good conduct and was released in June 2006. He had not been under the supervision of the Department of Corrections since then, spokesman Fred Scaletta said.

Saturday's incident was the first officer-involved shooting in Marion in nearly 10 years. Joseph L. Ward, 23, of Middle Amana, was shot by a police officer when he drove a stolen semi tractor toward the officer following a police chase on Nov. 18, 2001 in the 800 block of West Eighth Avenue.

Ward survived the shooting and later pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and other charges.