Around 4:44 p.m. Friday, a 65-year-old woman asked for officers to respond after her son shoved her during an argument about him contributing to the family’s bills, according to 911 records.
She said her son, later identified as West, was drunk and pushed her out of the chair and she fell and hit her head.
Four officers responded to the 200 block of McKinley Avenue. West was in the basement and told officers, who were at the top of the stairs, he had a pistol, according to police.
He reportedly refused commands to come upstairs or show his hands.
“When West became visible to the officers with a weapon pointed at them, Lt. Marcos Rodriguez fired,” read a statement from police.
West was pronounced dead at the scene.
Abbreviated body camera footage was released on Monday showing officers standing at the top of the basement stairs.
West can be heard saying he has a pistol before his mother says it’s a stun gun. Later in the footage an officer is heard describing it as a “pepper ball gun.”
Part of West’s body and legs could be seen as police told him to drop the gun before he backing further into the basement.
“I didn’t see his hands,” an officer is heard saying. “He had something in his hands like he was holding a weapon.”
West then moves back into view and is briefly seen pointing something at police and Rodriguez fires four shots.
After issuing more commands and not hearing a response, police went into the basement and found West on the floor.
Piqua police requested the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to handle the investigation.
Rodriguez has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the BCI investigation, which is the Piqua Police Department’s standard procedure.
The three other responding officers remain on active duty.
The department’s last officer-involved shooting was in July and resulted in no injuries. Piqua’s last fatal officer-involved shooting was in July 1988, according to police.
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