No charges for Dayton officer who shot woman
A Dayton police officer who shot a woman in July when she tried to run over another woman with a car will not face any charges.
A county grand jury on Wednesday ended its investigation into the shooting and has ignored it because there was no evidence of a crime.
A woman called 911 around 10:40 p.m. July 22 from the 1700 block of Newton Avenue and told dispatchers she was arguing with her child’s father and was in fear for her life. The woman said she was being stalked by the man and had been fighting with him over a set of house and car keys.
Two officers arrived minutes later, and as they were walking up they heard people arguing in front of a home and saw a red Chevrolet Impala with its engine running that was parked against the curb., Dayton police Lt. Col. Eric Henderson said in July.
Officer Joshua Gundaker fired three rounds at the car — whose driver later was identified as Damika Lutence Legrand — when it suddenly accelerated toward the woman who called 911, who was standing on the sidewalk. The car jumped the curb, but the woman was able to back out of its path, Henderson said.
When Gundaker fired his service weapon, he shot and wounded Legrand, who was the man’s girlfriend.
Legrand, 28, of Dayton drove off but called 911 at 10:50 p.m. to ask for help after she was shot in the arm. She was treated and released from a local hospital and booked into the Montgomery County Jail, police said.
Her young daughter was in the back seat of the car at the time of the shooting, but the car had tinted windows and the officer did not know she was there, Henderson said. The child was not hurt and was placed in a relative’s care.
She has since pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in a bill of information and was sentenced Oct. 21 to up to five years of community control, Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records show.
Gundaker has been with the Dayton Police Department for more than two years, police said.