DAYTON — Dayton police are investigating a recent use of force incident involving two of the department’s officers. This comes after police have been told a man involved is not expected to survive.
Montgomery County Regional Dispatch received a call around 5:49 a.m. on Wednesday regarding an unoccupied white SUV in the DeSoto Bass apartment complex.
Police Chief Kamran Afzal said the caller stated that the SUV was damaged with the airbag deployed. Additionally, the caller said the car was starting to smoke.
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Dayton police officers were dispatched three minutes later and then fire personnel were dispatched a minute after that.
When police got to the scene, they found a white Chevrolet SUV. It had damage believed to be sustained in a crash. Additionally, police saw two fences that were damaged.
A witness told police where the driver was and said he was yelling for help.
After finding who they believe to be the driver, he told police that he needed help. He had an “obvious injury to his arm and his pants were torn.”
Afzal said that as officers waited for a medic, the driver, who has not been identified, started to become agitated. As officers tried to help him, they said he “backed himself against a cruiser and balled up his fists.”
Body camera video shown during a Friday afternoon press conference showed officers trying to handcuff the driver, but police claimed he resisted and a struggle began. At one point, the man was accused of grabbing one of the officers’ tasers. The officers were able to gain control and place the driver in handcuffs and fire personnel arrived on scene.
“Once he was secured, they had noticed he had lost consciousness,” Afzal said.
The officers turned the driver onto his side, otherwise known as a recovery position. As officers were moving him to a “better recovery position,” the driver regained consciousness.
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The man was taken to a local hospital where was is believed to be drug paraphernalia was found in his possession.
Afzal said the man is in critical condition and has been told he is “not expected to survive.”
Dayton police identified both officers involved as Officers Chelsea Weitz and Dylan Lehotay. Neither officer is on leave pending the investigation.
The crash is also under investigation, but that investigation is separate from the one regarding the use of force.
Dayton Fire Department’s chief was at the press conference Friday afternoon and told News Center 7′s John Bedell that his department has also launched their own internal review.