5 officers cleared by grand jury in April officer-involved shooting

DAYTON — A grand jury did not indict the five officers who shot a 35-year-old man, who police said may have been fixated on the coronavirus pandemic at the time of the shooting.

The case was presented to the grand jury by special assistant prosecutors from another county, a prosecutor’s office spokesman said.

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Dispatchers received five separate 911 calls about Derek Wolfe, 35, who was later shot by police on Chelsea Avenue in April, according to Dayton Police Chief Biehl.

The series of 911 callers described a man standing in a backyard yelling and threatening to shoot someone and referencing the virus, drones and China.

In the fourth 911 call, a man told police that the suspect was firing shots from a rifle, Biehl said.

After receiving the 911 calls, officers arrived to the scene in the area of Lynnhurst Avenue and Chelsea Avenue to find a man standing with an AK-47 type rifle.

Police say they commanded Wolfe to put his weapon down but he ignored their requests and continued toward them while pointing his weapon at officers and neighboring houses.

Five officers then fired shots at Wolfe, said Biehl.

Even after securing the weapon and beginning life-saving measures on Wolfe, police say he gestured with a finger gun at the officers.

A confirmed motive has yet to be found, but police believe the information they have gathered indicate Wolfe may have been fixated on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on him.

Wolfe was indicted on multiple felonies related to the incident in May and his case is currently awaiting results from a psychological exam.

Cox Media Group