Clayton officer shot in arm while serving warrant on man wanted in Middletown
A Clayton police officer is recovering at a local hospital after being shot Thursday.
Officer Cody Cecil was shot in the arm while serving a warrant on Hacker Road Thursday. He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital and underwent surgery this morning, according to Clayton Police Chief Matthew Hamlin.
>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man found dead in Clayton home after police officer was shot wanted on charges in Middletown
Cecil has been part of the Clayton Police Department since 2015.
He was one of two Clayton officers who responded to Hacker Road to serve a search warrant on 22-year-old Elijah Clements Thursday afternoon. They were serving the warrant in assistance to Middletown Police, where Clements was wanted for arson, aggravated menacing, and domestic violence.
Property records reviewed by News Center 7′s John Bedell during our 5 p.m. newscast showed that Clements’ parents owned the home that Clayton officers were driving to Thursday. The same address on Volk Drive was listed in the new court documents we obtained.
>> RELATED: ‘Recent downward spiral;’ Family says man dead after shooting officer battled mental health issues
At a news conference on Friday, Hamlin said they never made it to the house because they found Clements on a neighbor’s front porch.
“He was on the porch when they arrived and they saw him go into the house,” Hamlin said.
That’s when things turned violent. Officers went into that home to find Clements.
“The suspect fled into the home and in an upstairs bedroom where he barricaded himself. When our officers tried to be in contact, the suspect fired several rounds at the officers, hitting one of the officers in the arm,” Hamlin said.
>>PHOTOS: Police officer shot, large investigation involving SWAT responds to Clayton neighborhood
Hamlin said he didn’t believe either officer was able to return fire toward Clements after Cecil was shot.
Police later found Clements dead inside the home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Two adults and two children made it out of the house safely after the shooting.
