5 Middletown officers cleared in shooting incident involving barricaded man

BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - A Butler County grand jury chose not to indict five officers involved in a shooting incident with a man who had barricaded himself inside an apartment, according to Middletown Police Chief David Birk.

Middletown police say officers were called to the Park Lane apartment complex around 4 p.m. on April 24 to “assist” in a well-being check.

An hour later, the situation “escalated” for unknown reasons, police explained.

A 29-year-old man, Kyle Kellum, barricaded himself inside, leading to a SWAT standoff.

The man shot at one officer with a semi-automatic handgun. Four officers discharged their weapons, Chief Birk said. All five have been cleared, he said.

Former Cincinnati police sergeant and president of Frontline Advisors Group Dan Hils says officers on-scene were speaking with the suspect’s brother, who was cooperative with police, telling them that his brother is suicidal and had a gun.

“They were working on a plan to get him to come outside, whether that was going to be with tear gas or some other sort of agent,” Hils said. “They never got that opportunity, because it’s my understanding that the individual fired some shots at the SWAT officers.

No officers were injured, according to an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations spokesperson.

The court documents show that given all the information from the investigation, the grand jury chose not to indict the officers in connection with the shooting.

Meantime, the grand jury indicted Kellum Monday on felonious assault, brandishing a firearm, and discharging a firearm at a law officer.

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