A man is in critical condition at Miami Valley Hospital after he was shot by a police officer on Kosmo Drive in Dayton.
- Officer-involved shooting happened during gun violence reduction blitz
- 3 Dayton police officers on administrative leave
- Montgomery County Sheriff's Office handling criminal investigation
Police were conducting a gun violence reduction blitz and were monitoring a man suspected in other violent crimes at the time of the officer-involved shooting, Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said.
PHOTOS: Officer-involved shooting in Dayton on Kosmo Drive
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During the operation, officers spotted a vehicle with equipment and license violations and attempted to stop it. Police began following the vehicle on Weaver Street near Haller Avenue around 12:27 p.m., dispatch logs show.
After the vehicle fled, it was monitored by an Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter, which related the vehicle’s location to crews on the ground.
Around 12:35 p.m., the vehicle pulled into the Georgetown Village apartment complex on Kosmo Drive off Williams Street. The driver then got into a red car, which Dayton police crews blocked in.
The passenger of the red car then got out with a gun in his hand and ran with police in pursuit.
“During that foot pursuit, three Dayton police officers fired at least one round at the suspect,” the chief said.
The man, whose name was not released, was struck at least once in the chest and according to the police statement, officers rendered aid before an ambulance took him to the hospital.
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Biehl said on Thursday that he thought the shooting victim had bad intentions.
“Had the option to leave that gun behind. ... The fact that he maintained possession of that weapon is certainly reason to conclude he had potential intent to utilize that weapon,” the chief said.
Biehl said the weapon was a handgun and extended magazine. Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies recovered a gun at the scene.
The three officers involved, who also were not named, are on administrative leave in accordance with department policy. However, one of the officers who fired his service weapon is a Dayton police homicide detective — the unit assigned to handle officer-involved shootings. For this reason, the Dayton Police Department asked the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office to handle the criminal portion of the investigation.
The Dayton Police Department Professional Standards Bureau will handle the administrative investigation, as usual.
Pete Jones of Dayton said what the suspect did was not OK.
“I think it’s wrong for you to be running from the police with a gun, period,” he said. “People put themselves in those kind of predicaments when you run from the law.”
The Black Lives Matter Dayton group issued a press release following the shooting, saying it is waiting on facts of the case. “Because of the sensitivity of police-community relations, Black Lives Matter Dayton calls on Dayton Chief of Police Richard Biehl to keep the community updated on the shooting as frequent as possible.”
