www.wdtn.com
Updated 9/14/2005 at 16:31:19
Police said they had no choice but to shoot a man when he rammed an officer's cruiser with his car. Police shot 43-year-old John Thompson two times, once in the arm, and once in the abdomen.
It happened Tuesday afternoon while police were conducting a surveillance operation of a suspected drug house. Police then spotted a man in a car they wanted to question. They tried to pull him over and ended up an old gas station lot on the corner of North Main Street and Burton Avenue. That is where police said Thompson acted out aggressively.
According to investigators, when one officer reached into the car to try and gain control, Thompson put his car in reverse and backed into a police cruiser. And when it looked like Thompson was reaching into his pocket to grab a gun, one officer opened fire. Based on the initial investigation, Dayton Police Major Mike Brown, his officer's use of deadly force in this case was justified.
"If they identified and felt this guy had a gun, I'm not so sure that using a taser would have been appropriate at that moment," Brown told 2News.
Major Brown said police did find a semi-automatic handgun in Thompson's pocket.
Thompson is expected to survive. He faces a charge of felonious assault on a police officer.
The officer who shot Thompson is on paid leave while police investigate all aspects to this case.
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