Grand jury: ‘Officer acted lawfully’ in shooting
A Montgomery TROTWOOD — County grand jury has declined to indict an officer who shot and killed a Trotwood man in February after a shoplifting complaint.
Trotwood police were called the night of Feb. 5 to a Speedway gas station at 5010 Olive Road on a report of a theft. Officers were given a description of the suspect and quickly found a man walking near the Kensington Apartment Complex across the street who matched the description, according to a release from the Montgomery
County Prosecutor’s Office.
The officers tried to stop the suspect — later identified as 25-year-old Andrew Peter Hogan — but Trotwood Police Chief Erik Wilson previously said Hogan struck one of the officers and that police used pepper spray.
Hogan reportedly refused to follow orders before he ran to the 700 block of Kelford Place and upstairs to his apartment. Hogan then opened the door with a knife in his hand and lunged at an officer who was outside the door, according to the release. That officer, who was not identified, fatally shot Hogan.
The case was presented to a Montgomery County grand jury by a special prosecuting attorney from another county, the release stated. The grand jury returned a no true bill, finding that “the officer acted lawfully under the circumstances.”
Three Trotwood officers who were involved in the shooting incident initially were placed on administrative leave, pending the investigation.
After her son’s death, Bernette Hogan of Trotwood joined the NAACP Dayton Unit calling for Trotwood police to wear body cameras so she would know what happened.
“If there were cameras, we wouldn’t have all these different stories, we will have the truth,” she said.
Wilson has said the cost of the cameras has been prohibitive for his department, but said that getting his officers equipped with them is a priority.