Arthur Dixon: St. Petersburg man dies after officer-involved shooting, was threatening police

SAINT PETERSBURG - St. Petersburg Police report a man who was transported to Bayfront Medical Center after being shot by police died on Sunday night.

The incident began just after 6 p.m. Sunday at 5411 4th Avenue North, when a woman called police saying her son, 43-year-old Arthur Dixon Jr., was threatening to commit suicide.

Police arrived on scene and tried to get Dixon to come out of the home, but he refused.  Reports indicated that the Dixon had dosed himself with gasoline and was holding a lighter to his body threatening to set himself on fire.

Officers started to negotiate with him through a front door window. Dixon refused to come outside and continued to threaten to harm himself when officers tried to talk to him.

About 90 minutes later police say Dixon started to run toward the back of the house  with a pair of scissors. Two police officers were stationed at the back of the house and saw him run outside.

Officials say that Dixon raised the scissors at the officers in a threatening manner causing the officers to draw their weapons. After several verbal warnings to drop the scissors the man allegedly continued to threaten the officers as he got closer to them.

Both officers then fired their weapons at him.

Dixon was struck in the chest and fell to the ground. He was treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to Bayfront Medical Center as a trauma alert.

Dixon later died from his injuries at the hospital.

Officers Devin Jones and Curtis Wright were both placed on administrative leave pending a further investigation into the shooting.