MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — One man is in critical condition after a shooting involving the Middletown Police Department, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation said.
A spokesperson said the BCI was requested by Middletown police after a shooting involving an officer on Park Lane Monday evening.
Dan Hils, president of the Cincinnati FOP and Front Line Advisors, said the Butler County Crisis Team first responded to an apartment complex after family members called concerned about a possibly suicidal man. When the team arrived and realized he had a gun and was not making sense, they called Middletown police.
"It's always difficult to negotiate to reason with someone who is in a mental crisis," sand Hils. "I understand he was dealing maybe with a brother and talking to a brother and then the brother was cooperating with police."
Hils said the man barricaded himself inside a residence and fired at officers. They shot back, hitting him. The man was taken to the hospital. No officers were injured.
"They were working on some sort of plan to get him to come outside whether that was with tear gas, or some sort of other agent, they never got that opportunity because it's my understanding the individual fired some shots at the SWAT officers," said Hils.
The BCI said its investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Just weeks ago, the Warren County Prosecutor's Office announced two Middletown officers who shot and killed a man during a traffic stop at the end of February would not be charged.
The two officers shot a man who was inside a car they had pulled over at the Walmart on Town Boulevard. Officials said the man gave false identification and police determined he had a warrant for his arrest. According to a police report, he displayed a gun when asked to exit the vehicle.
Middletown police do not have body cameras, only dash cameras. Chief David Birk said the city was awarded just under $50,000 from the Ohio Body Worn Camera Grant but turned it down.
"We were hoping we would get the full amount with the grant. We didn't," Birk said in an interview with WCPO.
City manager Paul Lolli said his administration will prioritize the needed funding for body cams in the next budget.
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