Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Dayton area crime > Archives > 2010 > March > 11
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Police officer charged with menacing after brandishing gun
DAYTON - A Dayton International Airport Police officer is facing a misdemeanor menacing charge after witnesses and victims said he brandished his city-issued handgun in front of kids to threaten a man while off duty.
City police responded to the 300 block of Maryland Avenue about 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, after receiving a call that Michael Lawson “pulled a gun out” and threatened someone, according to a police report.
Officers later learned Lawson, 30, had pulled out a gun in front of his girlfriend’s children after threatening their father with physical harm, according to a police report. Lawson was not arrested, but ordered in to talk with prosecutors Thursday, March 11.
A case was created in Dayton Municipal Court Thursday morning with a misdemeanor charge of menacing, according to court records. Lawson is scheduled for arraignment in municipal court on March 23.
Lawson has been placed on paid administrative leave and his weapon seized by his supervisor. He was not home early Thursday afternoon and was unavailable for comment.
After arriving at Maryland Avenue, officers found Lawson, 30, in his gray Jeep Cherokee on Deeds Avenue and he immediately jumped out of the vehicle and identified himself as an airport police officer, the report stated.
Lawson said he returned his city-issued Glock 22 back in house after having an argument with the father of his girlfriend’s children, police said. Lawson said he and Mark Shade have had numerous run-ins the last four months he has been dating his girlfriend.
Lawson said Shade has threatened him with physical harm numerous time and started yelling at him while waiting at an RTA bus stop Wednesday. But Shade contends Lawson pulled up in his Jeep and started cussing at him, the report stated.
Witnesses also reported Lawson approached Shade and made threatening comments, police said. Lawson then returned to his Jeep and retrieved a gun, police said.
Numerous witnesses said Shade’s children started screaming “He pulled a gun” before a resident in the area grabbed Lawson and broke up the altercation, the report stated.
This isn’t Lawson’s first brush with police. He was arrested on a domestic violence charge in May but the charges were later dismissed, according to court records.
The Dayton International Airport has 27 full-time police officers, many of which are members of the Dayton Public Service Union, city officials said.
TweetSchool placed on lockdown after woman brandishes gun
DAYTON - Multiple police officers are responding to the Immaculate Conception School on South Smithville Road about 3 p.m. as reports are coming in a woman is driving recklessly through the parking lot while brandishing a gun.
The car is described as a black Jeep that was lat seen heading south on Smithville Road.
The school has been placed on lock down and there are no reports of injuries at this time, according to police scanner traffic.
Stay with DaytonDailyNews.com.
TweetFBI investigation uncovers officer’s missing assault rifle
DAYTON - An FBI investigation into illegal drug activity uncovered a Dayton Police officer’s missing assault rifle Wednesday, March 10, inside a Trotwood home.
Officer James Hardin’s AR-15 assault rifle had been missing since Feb. 14, after he placed it on the roof of his cruiser and drove off, police said.
Hardin last saw the gun near Wayne and Wilmington avenues shortly after starting his shift, police said.
The gun was described as a Rock River Arms AR-15 .223 caliber rifle, valued at about $800, Maj Mark Hess said. The gun’s serial number was entered into a nationwide crime database and matched that of the gun found inside a home on Brumbaugh Boulevard Wednesday, police said.
FBI agents also found $4,500 in cash and marijuana, police said. The identities of the people inside the home being investigated by the FBI were not released.
Lt. Chris Williams, Hardin’s supervisor, said it is likely the officer will face some sort of discipline for losing his weapon. An internal affairs spokesman said no discipline had been filed as of Thursday morning.
TweetIndiana man feared dead found during drug bust
DAYTON - Police delivered good and bad news to an Indiana family who thought their loved one was dead from a drug overdose, but was instead discovered in the front seat of a car in Dayton Tuesday, March 10.
Mark Price, 28, is alive but is now in the Montgomery County Jail on drug paraphernalia possession and theft charges after officers found drugs in the car, according to a police report.
Officers were patrolling the 200 block of Valley Street about 6:30 p.m. when they noticed Jeremy Braden, who was an alleged theft suspect, behind the wheel of a 2003 Buick Century, the report stated.
Both Price and Braden, 19, got out of the car and tried to walk away as officers approached, but were escorted back to the vehicle, the report stated. Officers found baggies of marijuana in Braden’s pocket which he said he planned to sell, the report stated.
Braden was arrested on a drug trafficking charge and is in jail, according to jail records.
Officers also discovered a crack pipe which Price said belonged to him, the report stated. Price’s family was later notified he was no longer missing and was alive. Both men are expected to appear in court today.
Tweet
