“At one point, she did make the statement (to police) to shoot her,” Biehl said during a press conference. “So I think she was trying to bait the officers into that.”
Dayton officers Adam Sharp, Jamie Luckoski and Alexander Dole responded with 20 shots — 10 of which struck Arrone, who died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. Biehl said the officers are on administrative leave for an undetermined amount of time, per department policy.
Biehl said police had tried at least four times during a chaotic scene before the shooting to get Arrone — a convicted felon not legally allowed to possess a firearm — to comply with commands and to drop the weapon and turn off and exit her pickup truck.
Officers were first dispatched to the scene about 12:15 a.m. Sunday because of shots fired. Witnesses told police Arrone was involved in a disturbance where she held a gun to Fletcher’s head, threatened to kill her and fired multiple shots before driving off and returning. Wedding rings were found on the lawn.
Finally, stop sticks were deployed to deflate the tire’s of Arrone’s Ford pickup. She then got out of the vehicle, but had the gun in her hand. The action of Arrone firing into the air and the officers responding with their shots took four seconds, Biehl said.
“I’m saying based on the threat they confronted and the fact there were people in the area that were in harm’s way, they responded to a threat that appeared to be appropriate,” Biehl said. “Her conduct throughout the course of these events was unpredictable, volatile and violent. She represented a significant threat to the initial victim and to the broader community.”
During the press conference to explain the hour-long series of incidents around 3132 Wexford Place, Biehl played two 911 calls and showed three cruiser cam videos — one showing Arrone get shot and fall.
Biehl said the investigation would continue with more witness interviews. He also said an administrative review would take place to determine if all police policies were correctly followed.
Dayton Unit NAACP President Derrick Foward said his organization will conduct an investigation of the shooting “to make sure the police were within the guidelines.”
Foward said he was interested in learning more about the comments reported by this news organization from Arrone’s cousin, Monique Spears. Spears said police could have apprehended Arrone peacefully.
“There’s always two sides to every story and there’s the timeline (of events),” Foward said. “The timeline is critical.”
The last Dayton police-involved fatal shooting was Nov. 16, 2014 when officer Raymond Dine shot and killed John Smelko at Smelko’s residence at 1101 Huffman Ave.
Police responded to a disconnected 911 call from the residence and knocked on the door, which was opened “a crack.” The officers saw a hand with a gun pointed at them, prompting Dine to fire one shot. A Montgomery County grand jury did not indict Dine for his actions.
All three officers involved in the Wexford Place shooting had multiple commendations, but all each had at least one disciplinary action against them.
Sharp, sworn in Jan. 11, 2007, was reprimanded in May 2014 for missing a court appearance and docked 16 hours of vacation in 2013 for “failing to adequately secure a suspect in the occupant restraining device prior to transport.”
Luckosk, sworn in Sept. 12, 2014, was reprimanded in May 2015 for neglect of duty and unprofessional conduct for failing to conduct a thorough investigation and failing to ask a hit-and-run victim if they needed medical attention.
Dole, sworn in April 12, 2013, was reprimanded for losing his badge in October 2015.
Dayton police booked 20 spent casings into evidence after the police-involved shooting of Arrone.
A police report also listed two bullets, six cartridges, four Glock handguns, two Hi Point handguns, two Rock River Arms rifles, ring boxes, box bottoms, box tops, blood samples, home phones and stop sticks as evidence.
Biehl said the trouble began with Fletcher’s daughter not wanting to shoot a gun.
“A daughter of Ms. Fletcher was taken to a park with Ms. Arrone where Ms. Arrone tried to get her to shoot the weapon,” Biehl said. “She did not want to shoot the weapon. So Ms. Arrone fired that weapon and the daughter came back literally in tears over that event. That drove the argument.”
Arrone had multiple involvements with police, including an arrest in July 2015 where she threatened to shoot at the same residence. According to Dayton police reports, Arrone broke a window of the home with a tire iron before being locked out of the home by its owner. She was arrested and charged with aggravated menacing and criminal damaging.
April Wilson, 23, of Dayton, lives across the street from the site of the shooting with her 4-year-old daughter. She attends Sinclair Community College and studies criminal justice.
“I’m a young mother and I’m trying to use this as a stepping stone and it’s overwhelming because I don’t want to be here around stuff like this,” Wilson said. She said she has seen many things, but never a dead body. “I’ve never seen anything like this in play. It’s too close to home. It’s at my doorstep.”
Biehl played a 911 call from a man asking why police weren’t doing more to stop Arrone.
“We regret that the outcome of this escalation resulted in the loss of life,” Biehl said. “It was an outcome that we worked very hard to prevent.”
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