Dash cam video released after Middletown police shoot, kill man during traffic stop

Middletown police released new information Wednesday, four days after a traffic stop that left a man dead.

In response to WLWT's public records request, the department released the police incident report from the incident, as well as heavily redacted footage from a police dash camera.

The video also has no audio. Chief David Birk attributed the silent video to a technology issue. He said the body mics officers wear that accompany the video are not working and the camera equipment is so outdated the mics can no longer be serviced.

That is one less piece of evidence Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation will have as they investigate the shooting. The department does not have body-worn cameras.

The video released by Middletown police was redacted by BCI. The officers and the suspect are both blurred head to toe for most of the video.

When asked why, a spokesman for BCI told WLWT the officers' faces were blurred because they are uncharged suspects, and he personally had not seen the video, so he could not elaborate further.

The video shows officers pulling over a grey jeep in the Middletown Walmart parking lot. The reason listed on the police report for the top is a "traffic violation."

The video shows an officer approaching the passenger side of the vehicle. It is difficult to make out specifics after that point.

The police report said the driver had a suspended license and officers placed him in a cruiser.

The report said the passenger gave false information about who he was. Police were able to identify him as Victor Lykins, 47, of Middletown. The officers involved said they also learned Lykins had an active warrant for tampering with evidence.

The report said when the officers asked Lykins to get out of the vehicle, he pulled out a gun.

"During the course of the struggle over the firearm Middletown Division of Police officers did discharge their firearms striking Lykins," the incident report said.

Police officers are trained to immediately render aid after a suspect is shot. The video appears to show that did not happen.

Two minutes and 20 seconds after the struggle appeared to end, the officers return to the SUV to pull Lykins out, starting CPR within about 15 seconds of that.

Radio traffic captured by WLWT alert curators supports what the video appears to show.

At 5:25 p.m. an officer radios in "shots fired." At 5:26 p.m. an officer radios in "13 in hand," "officers are ok" and "subject down." At 5:27 p.m. an officer radios in "we're ok." At 5:29 p.m. an officer radios in "starting CPR.

WLWT investigative reporter Jatara Mcgee asked Chief Birk about the apparent delay in rendering aid.

"After traumatic events like that you're trying to figure out what happened in your mind and trying to regroup," Birk said, adding that after the officers gathered themselves and started to process what happened, they contacted medics and started CPR.

In regard to the video footage available, Birk said the department is in the process of replacing the dash camera system in the cruisers and started replacing them Wednesday.

Birk said the department has discussed getting body cameras and was even awarded a significant grant from the governor's office to purchase them at the end of the year. He said the department was unable to come up with the funding for a redaction specialist, so they turned down the $49,000 grant.

The chief said the last officer-involved shooting in Middletown was in the early 2000s, almost twenty years ago.

When asked Wednesday, Birk told WLWT the department will release the unredacted video after BCI closes its investigation.