ELYRIA — Every Elyria police officer’s personnel file contains a form discussing the officer’s desires should the unthinkable happen and they be killed in the line of duty.

Among the questions on the form is who should handle the notification of the family.

Slain Elyria police Officer James Kerstetter, gunned down Monday night on 18th Street, had two fellow officers listed — Phil Hammonds and Jay Loesch.

Loesch, 48, was among the officers who raced toward 18th Street in response to a desperate call from Kerstetter over the radio that he’d been shot while investigating a woman’s report about a naked man who had kicked in a neighbor’s window and exposed himself to her daughter.

Loesch and Officer Donald Moss shot and killed Ronald Palmer, who police have said killed Kerstetter just moments earlier.

The veteran officers are now on required administrative leave while their decision to shoot Palmer dead Monday night is investigated along with Kerstetter’s death. Such leave is mandatory after a shooting per department policy.

Elyria Police Chief Duane Whitely has called both Loesch and Moss “excellent officers” and has said he has no reason to believe they acted improperly.

Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus said Thursday that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing, and he couldn’t release how many times either Kerstetter or Palmer were shot. But investigators have said both Palmer and Kerstetter, who was wearing his bulletproof vest during the encounter, were shot multiple times.

Whitely has said the investigation by the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office could take some time to finish and once completed likely will be presented to a county grand jury for review.

Of Loesch and Moss, Loesch, 48, is the senior officer, having been on the force for 15 years. Moss, 34, has been with the department for 12 years.

A review of his personnel file showed only one complaint against him — for parking in a spot for the disabled near the county Justice Center in 2004. A review by his superiors determined that it was an “honest mistake” because of other signs, flowers and other items hanging from the sign.

Loesch’s file also contained numerous positive performance reviews and commendations for his work for the department, including his work as the lead hostage negotiator during a 30-hour standoff with Anthony Horton on 14th Street in 2004.

Horton eventually surrendered but not before threatening to kill police and shooting at officers. He is scheduled to be released from prison in 2019.

In addition to his work as hostage negotiator, Loesch also has served on the city’s Special Response Team, worked narcotics and been a detective — he received a letter of recognition in 2000 for his work on a murder investigation.

A performance review early in his career noted that Loesch tended to be “very defensive in his dealings with his superiors” and that he took things personally. Loesch challenged the review, arguing that the supervisor who did the review had only worked with him for about two months.

The bulk of his reviews since then have been full of praise for Loesch’s work.

“Ptlm. Loesch is a natural born leader of men. Ptlm. Loesch is confident with himself and he is able to think quickly and make snap decisions,” his 2008 performance review noted.

There was nothing about use of force in Loesch’s file, but news stories from 2005 reported that he shot and killed two Rottweilers that had attacked another dog, and the department ruled he and other officers involved acted properly.

The file for Moss contains more supervisory reports than Loesch’s, but Moss was cleared in most of those incidents.

In December 2007, Moss hit a man on a bicycle with his patrol car. The man was later determined to be drunk and Moss was cleared of wrongdoing in the incident. He was involved in another on-duty accident in 2005, but a review determined that he wasn’t at fault.

Moss received a light punishment in 2004 after his engine lost its oil and was damaged. Moss told his superiors that he had checked the oil a few days before he took it to get looked at and there was enough oil in the car.

In 2007, he was counseled for improperly accessing the department’s computer system as part of a joke on a fellow officer. Moss told his superiors that he would apologize to the other officer.

The only allegation of excessive force against Moss came in 2006 when a woman complained to police about Moss’ arrest of her son on a curfew violation. She accused Moss of being too rough during the arrest and putting his foot on her son’s face. An investigation later determined that the boy appeared to have been injured when he was tackled while fleeing police.

His 2007 performance review described him as “highly motivated” and “experienced and professional.”

“Subjects that Ptlm. Moss have arrested speak highly of him,” the review also said.

The file also contained several commendations, including for his work during the Horton standoff and another standoff in which he assisted the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office in 2005 as a member of the Special Response Team.

In 2000, Moss and another officer were overcome with smoke while trying to make sure a burning building was evacuated before the Fire Department arrived. Both officers were later treated and released and received a letter of recognition for their efforts in the incident.

Moss also received a letter of commendation in 2007 for working well past the end of his shift to help deal with a man who had threatened to kill his wife and children.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or braddicken@live.com.

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