On the evening of March 24, 2026, in Dayton, Ohio, 44-year-old Reginald Thomas, who was riding a bicycle, was stopped by a Dayton police officer for not having a light. The stop escalated after a brief conversation when Thomas ran on foot; during the chase a struggle occurred over a handgun and a second officer fired a single, fatal shot. Thomas was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Dayton police released body camera footage showing the stop, chase and struggle, but the identity of the officer who fired was not made public. The death prompted protests and calls for transparency from family members, civil rights groups and local activists, who questioned whether the traffic stop was pretextual and part of a pattern of biased policing.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a criminal investigation while the Dayton Police Department’s Professional Standards Bureau is carrying out an internal administrative probe; results and any prosecutorial decision have not been announced and no arrests have been reported.