Body camera video appears to show a West Chester Township Police officer shoot and kill a man last week who was holding a knife to a woman’s throat.
Police identified the man who died as Lorenzo Miller, 39.
Shortly before 10 p.m. June 4, officers responded to an apartment on Zinnia Court after receiving a 9-1-1 call from a neighbor reporting a woman screaming for help.
Officers forced open the door after no one answered and attempts to talk to the occupants by phone were unsuccessful, police said. Body camera video appears to show them searching the apartment and then locating Miller and a woman in an upstairs bathroom.
Miller can be heard on the video telling officers not to rush in and that he’s holding a knife to her throat. The woman can be heard screaming for help.
The video shows officers telling him to let her go, then going into the bathroom and firing one shot at Miller. He can be seen holding the knife to her throat before he’s shot.
The woman had multiple visible injuries, police said. She was treated at UC Hospital West Chester and released.
No officers sustained serious injuries.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Butler County Coroner’s Office are investigating the shooting.
The four officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, in accordance with department policy.
“Our priority right now is to ensure that the investigative process is followed correctly, carefully, and thoroughly," the police department said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to all of the friends and family members who have been affected by this incident.”
The four officers involved haven't been identified. The one who fired the shot is a sergeant with 20 years of law enforcement experience, the department said.
Miller had several previous convictions, including aggravated murder, domestic violence, aggravated robbery and felonious assault.