During a mental health call, a coroner reports that an armed man was shot and killed by police. Investigators say the guy was shot and killed after pointing a shotgun at cops attempting to assist him during a mental health emergency. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office identified Taylor Cotton as 26 on Tuesday morning. A woman called 911 on Saturday morning, saying her son would shoot her if police arrived, prompting Dayton Police to respond to the 1200 block of Rosedale Drive, as previously reported by News Centre 7.
The mother reported to the police that her son’s mental health problems began on Saturday. He burned down the house next door. I recognized my son. She informed dispatchers, “I knew it was. “Cotton, who police only named as a 26-year-old Black male during a press conference on Monday, was contacted shortly after officers arrived on the scene.
Dayton Police Maj. Paul Saunders said that for 30 minutes, officers tried to defuse the situation. Saunders aired audio from the cops’ body cameras, which showed them trying to talk to the suspect. Don’t force us to do this, man. This is not why we are here. In the tape, an unnamed cop is heard saying, “No one wants this.” Cotton had a criminal and mental health history, according to Saunders. He was even recognized by a Dayton cop who claimed to have previously taken him to the hospital.
Police said that the body camera film showed Cotton and family members, but they did not show it. “This is more of a mental health issue than a criminal one. We handle it that way,” Saunders stated. A brief video clip that seemed to show Cotton exiting his vehicle and aiming his gun at police officers was shown by Saunders. The actual shooting involved eight officers: a Moraine police officer, a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputy, and six members of the Dayton Police Department.
The eight involved policemen are undergoing counselling and are on administrative leave. It was eventually discovered by the police that Cotton’s gun was unloaded. The shooting is being investigated criminally by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
