By Jane Prendergast
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SOUTH FAIRMOUNT - Police hope a cell phone found at the scene of a gunbattle might lead them to the man who fired at two undercover officers Wednesday.

But because it was so windy Wednesday night and the wooded area and trail behind the Westwood Avenue house are so littered with trash, officials aren't sure the phone and a gun that was also found there are related to the shooting.

Officers Michael Harper and Anna Dwertman were working in plainclothes in the area around Westwood and Grand avenues in response to complaints about drugs and other crimes, Chief Tom Streicher said. They'd been trying to catch a man they repeatedly had seen run behind the house, and followed him when they saw him do it again.

In back of house

Behind the three-story house, the officers were confronted by three men who walked out of the woods.

They said the men asked them who they were and they identified themselves as police officers. One of the three men fired shots, and the officers returned fire. Diving for cover, Dwertman hurt her right knee.

The incident lasted only a few seconds - "it deteriorated almost immediately," Streicher said - and took place in close quarters in the dark between the house and the woods. An internal investigation will determine if the officers acted properly, but Streicher said officers who get fired at have "every right in the world to take action and defend" themselves.

Investigators don't think anyone was hit by gunfire. Officers found no blood at the scene, the chief said, and have not located any gunshot victims.

Specifics on how many shots were fired by either side were not available Thursday. Capt. Vince Demasi, investigations commander, said tests on the guns were continuing. He said he hoped the initial cell phone records might be ready today.

Standard procedure requires that the officers will be on administrative leave for five working days and two off days.

E-mail jprendergast@enquirer.com