Dayton — Dayton Police Department is looking into three different incidents in the last week in which they say uniformed officers were assaulted on the job.
The first event took place a week ago, when officers were called to report of a suspicious vehicle parked between two trucks.
It ended with those officers being hit by the driver of that car.
The officers managed to help chase that driver down moments later in West Carrollton.
Days later on Tuesday night, officers were again in jeopardy after being called to break up a large fight on Lorenz Avenue.
Police said one man with a gun in hand ran into the home and officers tried to set up a perimeter.
One officer walked past a window when someone fired from inside the house, according to police.
“[He] heard a very loud gunshot, saw a flash and could smell burnt gunpowder,” Major Jason Hall with Dayton Police said at a press conference.
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The close and dangerous call was followed up the very next night by an incident on Keowee Street when a man rammed a cruiser two times without explanation, according to police.
When officers tried to arrest him, he is accused of trying to push an officer into traffic before being tased.
Police did make arrests, 30-year-old Anthony Easterling is accused of the Love’s Truck Stop incident, 40-year-old Walvid Dubose is accused of firing a shot at an officer on Lorenz Avenue and a 36-year-old Jonathan Reighley is accused of ramming and pushing officers.
“We have police officers feeling the strain and stress,” Shelley Dickstein, Dayton City Manager said.
Dickstein said police have endured a rough few years, above and beyond typical tough job conditions.
She pointed to the perceptions of police nationally, lower than desired staffing levels, and the increasing danger of the job.
One example is Officer Thadeu Holloway being shot last year after attempting to stop a theft suspect for questioning.
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Dickstein said instances like this make it difficult to attract and retain officers.
“It’s a difficult situation that is going to require a lot of creative approaches,” she said.
In all three of the most recent incidents, Dayton police made very quick arrests.
All of the accused individuals were booked into Montgomery County Jail and have begun the process of going through the legal system.
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