“He needs to go to the hospital,” the woman told dispatchers, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch records.
She also claimed he set fire to a neighboring house the previous day.
She called 911 a second time to report he had a gun. In the background of the call a man can be heard threatening to have a shootout.
Multiple Dayton police officers responded and spoke to the woman. Around 8:43 a.m., Cotton returned to the house in a car.
“There was information that he intended to have a shootout with the officers,” Dayton police Maj. Paul Saunders previously said. “He was armed with a long gun, which prompted our officers to immediately call for assistance.”
Law enforcement from multiple agencies, including the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Moraine Police Department, responded.
Crews tried to de-escalate the situation for around 25 minutes. Dayton’s police commander for the hostage negotiation team and a senior crisis negotiator were reportedly at the scene.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
At 9:09 a.m. Cotton got out of the car and reportedly pointed a shotgun at officers.
Six Dayton police officers, one Moraine officer and one Montgomery County sheriff’s deputy fired at Cotton, according to police.
Cotton was reportedly shot multiple times.
Crews began providing medical care until medics could take over. He was transported to Miami Valley Hospital, where he died from injuries.
Investigators later determined the shotgun was unloaded, Saunders said.
On Thursday, the Montgomery County grand jury reviewed the case.
At the request of Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr., two assisting prosecuting attorneys from the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office were appointed as special prosecutors in the case.
The grand jury did not return an indictment.
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