Man accused of shooting Sidney officer due in court today for child porn charges

SIDNEY — A man accused of shooting and injuring a Sidney police officer, prompting an hours-long manhunt in Shelby County, is due in court for child porn charges Wednesday.

Court records indicate the warrant Steele was initially being arrested for on the day that a Sidney officer was shot, was following a June 2020 indictment for five counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor.

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Brandon Steele, 34, appeared in front in Shelby County court last Friday, where his bond was set at $1 million. Steele has been charged with two counts of felonious assault in connection to the shooting of Sidney police Sgt. Tim Kennedy.

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Steele’s next court appearance for his involvement in the Sidney officer who was shot is expected to be Oct. 18.

Steele was located and arrested Oct. 7 after a SWAT standoff at a Sidney house. Police were able to track his whereabouts following a manhunt that started late Wednesday night.

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The incident started as a warrant service in the 700 block of Lynn Street around 10:30 p.m. Oct. 6. Officers were attempting to serve an outstanding warrant for Steele’s arrest when he ran from officers.

During the chase, a Sidney officer went to use a Taser on Steele, at which point Steele turned around and fired a gun at the officer. The officer returned fire, but Steele was able to run into a wood line. No one was hit during this exchange of gunfire, Balling said.

Later, Steele came out of the wooded area and fired shots that hit Kennedy twice, once in the abdomen and once in the lower leg, Balling said.

Kennedy was taken first to Wilson Memorial Hospital in Sidney before he was transported by medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital. Balling said Kennedy underwent an hours-long surgery and is expected to be hospitalized for several days.

Kennedy was the second law enforcement officer to be shot in Ohio Wednesday night. A state trooper from the Findlay Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol was shot during a traffic stop. That trooper suffered non-life-threatening injuries and the suspect in the incident was later captured also after a lengthy manhunt in the Findlay area.

“Law enforcement is a very dangerous career,” Balling said. “These officers are members of our families. These officers have kids. They have family members. They’re one of us in a uniform serving and protecting.”

We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

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