Police kill man after Harrison Twp. stabbing
Man reportedly charged officers with a weapon in Harrison Twp.
Benjamin Price Cotton, shot and killed Friday, was suffering from drug addiction and struggling to adjust to home life.
A man who was shot and killed by law enforcement early Friday was suffering from drug addiction and struggling to adjust to home life after he was recently released from prison, according to the leaders of the Dayton Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff ’s Office.
Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said law enforcement had multiple contacts in a nearly 24-hour period with Benjamin Price Cotton, 24, who later was shot and killed
after he reportedly charged officers early Friday with a weapon on Sherer Avenue in Harrison Twp.
Both sheriff ’s deputies and Dayton police officers fired at Cotton, the sheriff said. The sheriff and Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl identified the officials involved as Montgomery County Sheriff deputies Dan Casey and Thomas Barnes and Dayton Police officers Jamie Luckoski, Terrell Moore, Jason Bryant and Christopher Bartley.
Officials said a police dog was injured during the incident as well. The dog was Officer Rio, the police dog who was named in honor of Det. Jorge Del Rio. Biehl said the canine was treated and released from the veterinarian.
Cotton had two prior convictions for assault on police officers, Dayton police Chief Richard Biehl said. He was released from prison in February.
Law enforcement responded to the house in the 2200 block of Sherer Avenue around 2 a.m. on a domestic violence report. In a 911 call obtained by the Dayton Daily News, a woman told a dispatcher that Cotton was attacking his brother and father. Law enforcement had been called to the scene two times Thursday
before getting the call Friday morning.
“He had a piece of wood or something and they got it away from him; but he’ll calm down for a minute and then as soon as they’ll turn their backs, he’s crazy again,” the Friday morning caller said.
Once at the scene, officers realized Cotton stabbed a family member at the home. The stabbing victim was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
At the scene, Cotton came outside and officers used “less lethal” tactics such as bags and deploying TASERs, said Streck. In that brief encounter, deputies and officers tried to take the suspect into custody, but he was able to get away from them and back inside the house.
Later, the suspect left the house again but this time with a knife in hand. He charged officers at the perimeter, Streck said, which led to the officer-involved shooting. Officers gave him multiple commands for him to drop the knife before they fired at him when he reportedly charged them, they said.
Ohio BCI agents will conduct an investigation into the officers’ actions. The sheriff ’s office and police department will conduct separate independent investigations once the criminal investigation is over, Biehl said.