Kettering police Chief Chip Protsman said he thinks McCoy acted properly by firing after giving 30 commands to the occupants of the vehicle after spotting a gun grip sticking out of Hoops’ pocket. Protsman said Hoops did not comply with McCoy’s instructions and the officer feared for his own safety.
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Hoops, 33, died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. His family has hired an attorney and called for Kettering police to turn over the criminal and internal investigations to an independent agency. Hoops’ family attorney Konrad Kircher said in a press release that Kettering police “cannot conduct a neutral, objective credible investigation of its own officer.” Kettering police have said they have no additional comments on the pending investigation.
McCoy worked for UD from December 2012 until May 2015.
On May 27, 2013, Hoops assisted a fellow UD officer during a traffic stop for speeding of a man who was not a UD student, according to a report in McCoy’s personnel records.
McCoy wrote that the other officer warned him that the driver may have a weapon due to a Dayton police note that said the man had been found with a loaded BB gun during a stop.
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McCoy wrote that when the man refused to show his hands and the man reached under the seat with his left hand, McCoy and the other officer drew their weapons and ordered the driver out of the car and put his hands above his head.
The man got on the ground and the officers re-holstered and he was handcuffed. No gun was located, but the man did drop a cell phone and a small amount of marijuana was found in the vehicle.
UD police found that the officers’ actions were “justified, proper, and in compliance” with policies and procedures and that the officers were “exonerated” of any allegation of misconduct.
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On June 2, 2013, McCoy and another officer responded to a potential burglary. When one suspect fled during questioning and hid behind a van and the man’s hands were not visible, McCoy pointed his weapon at the suspect.
The suspect got on the ground before McCoy holstered his gun and handcuffed the man, who was not a UD student. A small amount of heroin was found in the suspect’s cap, but no one was prosecuted for burglary.
Similarly like his other use of force incident, McCoy was exonerated and not disciplined.
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McCoy was the subject of a complaint for which he was found to have acted correctly during an interaction with a person who had license plates flagged for potentially not matching the vehicle.
On April 27, 2013, McCoy stopped a vehicle driven by a black female University of Dayton employee, who complained that McCoy acted cocky and rude.
“I have never been a person to feel racially profiled on this campus, even though I have heard stories about UD police, I have never experienced that in the five years that I have been on this campus,” the woman wrote, according to an internal investigation about the incident obtained by this news organization.
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“But after this horrible experience and the way I was treated, I now can see why students feel how they do. It is not fair to be treated like a criminal.”
McCoy was the only officer involved. UD has declined to respond to questions about McCoy’s personnel record.
The investigation found that McCoy’s body camera didn’t activate until after his initial contact with the woman, but that McCoy didn’t seem rude or disrespectful during the encounter.
The UD Public Safety Community Review Council voted 5-0 that McCoy’s actions were in compliance with policy and the law, according to the documents.
When asked about these incidents in McCoy’s prior employment, Protsman, Kettering’s police chief, said through a city spokesperson that he is unable to comment because the city has an ongoing investigation of the shooting.
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