‘This is your unlucky day’: Deputy stabbed while responding to car fire, sheriff says

BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX/Gray News) - An Ohio deputy is stable after he was stabbed at the scene of a vehicle fire Thursday.

Deputy Mike Farthing responded to the vehicle fire at a home on Myers Road around 12:45 p.m., Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones explained.

The fire that prompted the deputy to respond appears to have been set by 41-year-old Phillip Lovely, the sheriff said.

The deputy arrived at the home and found the vehicle fully engulfed in flames. At that time, Farthing was the only law enforcement official present, according to the sheriff.

Jones said Lovely approached Farthing and told him, “This is your unlucky day,” before stabbing the deputy through his vest and into his back.

Jones described the weapon as a butcher knife with an 8- to 10-inch blade.

Farthing was able to radio dispatch to report that he had been stabbed as he struggled with Lovely.

Both men ended up on the ground and Farthing was then able to hold Lovely at gunpoint, Jones said.

Lovely’s uncle was eventually able to convince him to drop the weapon, according to the sheriff.

Farthing, who has an estimated 20 years of law enforcement experience, was rushed to Atrium Hospital for treatment.

Jones last said Farthing remained in the emergency room, but was breathing and talking.

“I went to the hospital to check on my deputy, and I’m very thankful, as we all are, that we are dealing with non-life-threatening injuries at this time. Our deputies face life-or-death situations every single day, often without warning. This incident is a reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers encounter simply doing their job, and we are extremely grateful that this situation did not turn out worse,” Jones said.

The sheriff did not hide his displeasure when he said Lovely was being treated at the same hospital as his deputy.

Instead, Jones said he thinks the man who “tried to kill” his deputy should be at a different hospital.

The Butler County Prosecutor’s Office will announce what charges Lovely will face, but Jones believes they will be serious.

“They’ll be very serious charges. He tried to kill my deputy, just like if you try to kill anybody,” Jones said. “I’m not going to speculate on what the charges are going to be. That will be up to the prosecutor.”