Police release body cam video after officer shoots man with knife during mental health call

DAYTON — Dayton police have released new details after an officer-involved shooting Sunday evening.

During a news conference News Center 7 learned the suspect was let out of prison a little more than a year ago for assaulting a Dayton police officer.

As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, body camera video shows Dayton officers responding to a home on Sunday night in the 700 block of N Broadway Street.

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The call that brought them there came an hour and 15 minutes earlier from a behavioral healthcare center in Cincinnati, according to police.

Dayton Police Department Chief Kamran Afzal described the call as a “mental health call” having to do with a “trespassing” incident at the house.

It is hard to understand what the caller was talking about. She then hung up on the dispatcher just before 7 p.m.

Police said the dispatcher tried to call back five times to get some clarification with no luck and then sent officers to the home more than 40 minutes later.

News Center 7 asked Afzal about the time delay.

“So initially, actually, the initial dispatch was 7:40. But those officers were then redirected to a priority call,” Afzal said.

Once officers get to the home, they find a man in the backyard next to the house. That’s when officers say they noticed the suspect, 77-year-old Otto Coleman, had a knife.

The officer can be heard telling the man to drop the knife. Police paused the video just before the officer fired his first shot.

Afzal said Coleman held onto the knife after the shooting, and they had to get it from him before providing first aid. Medics then took him to the hospital.

The officer is on leave.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office will investigate whether anything officers or Coleman did was criminal.

Coleman is facing a parole violation charge.

An internal Dayton Police Department investigation will determine whether any officers will face professional punishment.

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