Findlay police call officer shooting 'suicide by cop'

FINDLAY — Findlay police Chief James Mathias said the Wednesday officer-involved shooting that led to Robert Norton's death was a "suicide by cop" at a press conference in Findlay City Council chambers Friday. Flanked by Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn, Safety-Service Director Rob Martin and other ranking members of the city police department, Mathias showed a presentation containing redacted bodycam footage from two of the four officers at the scene and a 911 call that led to the incident. Mathias did not reveal the identify of any of the four officers. Order of events In the 1:47 p.m. 911 call, a man police believe to be Norton, 90, tells a dispatcher there has been a shooting at 1642 Cherry Lane and police need to hurry and send someone. The dispatcher attempts to find out more information, but the man repeats his earlier message and then hangs up the phone. Four officers are dispatched to the address, and two, referred to by Mathias as "Officer 1" and "Officer 2" at the press conference, begin approaching the front door of the residence at 1:52 p.m. Before anything is said, Norton opens the glass front door about three inches and points what looks to be a black handgun out of the doorway at Officer 1. Officers 1 and 2 fire on Norton, breaking the glass and striking Norton several times. One officer fired four shots and the other fired three, making seven total rounds fired, Mathias said. Neither of the other two officers at the scene fired their weapons. Officers entered the residence and found no one else inside. They rendered first aid on Norton before he was transported to Blanchard Valley Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. None of the officers were injured at the scene. Initial investigation An autopsy was performed on Norton Thursday at Lucas County Coroner's Office, and results are pending. Mathias said the weapon Norton was holding that looked like a black handgun turned out to be a BB gun, which police recovered at the scene. He said the model looks very similar to a Beretta PX4 9mm handgun, and presented a photo at the press conference showing the comparison. After conducting interviews with neighbors, police concluded no shots had been fired in the vicinity prior to the incident. Mathias said all evidence gathered points to the situation being a "completed suicide by cop." "The male suspect made a pretty poor decision that ended up costing him his life," Mathias said. He said Norton's wife died in early October, and they had both been away from the residence for some time before the Wednesday incident. The Police Executive Research Forum defines suicide by cop as an encounter in which a suicidal person attempts to die by suicide by making a law enforcement officer use lethal force. The research forum's website states suicidal people may taunt the officer, run towards them or point a toy gun at them to insist on the deadly action. Aftermath The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the incident. FPD will conduct its own internal investigation once the BCI investigation is complete, Mathias said. All four officers at the scene have been placed on paid critical incident leave. The two officers who fired at Norton will be on leave at least until the BCI investigation wraps up, at which point they'll go on administrative leave for a period of time. The other two officers at the scene will be on leave as the department works with them to get them ready to go back to work, Mathias said. "I'm proud of these officers," Mathias added, "and the personnel of the Findlay Police Department." Muryn made a statement about the availability of mental health resources in the community and beyond for those who need them. "In Findlay and across the country, we are seeing an increase in suicide and mental health issues," she said. Wednesday's fatal shooting follows almost exactly a year after the last Findlay police officer-involved shooting, which came on the evening of Oct. 28, 2024, when 17-year-old Kalvin Darapheth was killed by officers after firing a stolen handgun at them near Bernard Park. Police had been dispatched there for a report of underage drinking. To watch the bodycam footage, find this story at TheCourier.com. Saige Thornley contributed reporting to this story.