MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Two officers who shot and killed 47-year-old Victor Lykins at the end of February will not face charges, the Warren County Prosecutor's Office announced on Friday.
"After careful review of all the facts and evidence, I have concluded that the application of the use of deadly force ... was objectively reasonable," said David Fornshell, Warren County prosecutor, in a press release.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, which investigates most shootings involving officers in Ohio, did not release their names during the investigation. The officers involved were not injured, officials said in February.
According to Fornshell, on February 25 at around 5:30 p.m., one of the two officers involved initiated a traffic stop after the driver of a 2008 Jeep Commander made an improper turn. When pulled over, the driver pulled into the parking lot of a Walmart on Town Boulevard in Middletown, prosecutors said.
A police report made at the time of the shooting said Victor Lykins' brother was the driver of the vehicle; the report said officers determined the driver's license was suspended and dash camera footage showed an officer escorting him to the back of one of the police vehicles.
According to Fornshell, the passenger in the vehicle was Victor Lee Lykins, who allegedly gave false identification at first. Once Lykins was properly identified, police determined he had a warrant for his arrest; at this time, a second Middletown officer had arrived on scene and was speaking with Lykins, the prosecutor's office said.
According to the police report and Fornshell, when Lykins was asked to exit the vehicle, he refused and displayed a revolver.
A struggle ensued as the second officer attempted to gain control of the revolver, according to Fornshell's press release. "At that time, indicating that he feared for his partner's safety, (the first Middletown officer) fired two rounds into the vehicle, striking Lykins in the head and back."
This is the first time an official involved in this investigation has identified which officer was responsible for firing the shots that killed Victor. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Fornshell, BCI's investigators found a Burgo 22 LR double action revolver on the ground next to Victor's body; it was loaded and contained eight rounds, prosecutors said.
Fornshell's office said Lykins' brother told BCI during their investigation that Lykins told him he'd kill himself before returning to prison; Lykins' brother also allegedly told BCI agents his brother grabbed the revolver from the back seat of the vehicle and intentionally put it between his legs before officers approached.
Dash camera footage of the shooting was released on March 1, but no body camera footage was available because Middletown officers aren't equipped with them. In mid-March, Middletown Police Chief David Birk told the Journal-News that while the city had received a $49,608 grant in 2022 to purchase body cameras, the city was forced to reject the grant because it wasn't enough to cover the costs.
Birk told the Journal-News the city rejected the grant because it doesn’t have the money to pay the salary and benefits for one or maybe two redaction specialists, estimated at $65,000 each. Birk said his grant request was initially for $124,218.
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