By Mark Gokavi
Dayton Daily News
ENGELWOOD, Ohio — Englewood police Monday afternoon are releasing body camera footage from an officer-involved fatal shooting of Shelly Porter III, 41, last February outside the former Englewood Inn.
The footage shows Porter fought with officer after being TASERed. The body camera footage shows a violent struggle.
Englewood police Sgt. Lang said: “Officer Corcoran had every reason to believe Mr. Porter was armed.”
EARLIER:
An Englewood police officer who fatally shot a man in February was criminally cleared Friday by a Montgomery County grand jury.
Officer Timothy Corcoran, a 10-year veteran of that department and 17-year officer, shot and killed Shelly Porter III, 41 outside the former Englewood Inn. The men had talked to each other outside a different hotel earlier on Feb. 5.
“This has been a tragic event for everyone involved,” Englewood police Sgt. Mike Lang said. “We are appreciative of the diligent efforts of the Attorney General’s office and the agents of (the Bureau of Criminal Investigation). “Once we obtain (BCI’s) investigation and briefing Monday morning, we will release all investigative materials, including all body camera footage, to the public.”
Porter refused to comply with Corcoran’s commands, and the use of a TASER proved ineffective, according to a press release from the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
The release said “a physical fight ensued, Porter pointed his firearm at Corcoran, who then discharged his duty weapon in self-defense.”
Porter was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he died.
Corcoran saw Porter earlier that day in the parking lot of Hampton Inn at 180 Rockridge Road, according to police.
“The suspect was acting suspicious in that he was dressed inappropriately for the weather and was just king of hanging out in the parking lot of a hotel where he was not staying,” Lang said earlier this year.
Dispatchers later got a call from the assistant manager of the Motel 6 at 9325 North Main St.t to report a damaged a motel room. Officers found spent and unspent rounds in the motel room, but did not find a firearm.
During a search for Porter, Corcoran found him in the parking lot of the closed motel on South Main Street. After the scuffle and shooting, Porter was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he died.
The prosecutor’s release said the grand jury heard testimony from both civilian and police witnesses.
“After consideration of all the testimony and evidence, the grand jury returned a no true bill,” finding that the officer’s actions “were legal under the circumstances.”
Corcoran also met Porter on Christmas Day 2015, when the officer was to escort Porter and another suspect to jail during a stolen vehicle investigation.
In that report, Corcoran wrote that Porter asked if he had a kit to test for pesticides. Porter said he thought he and the other suspect were being poisoned by pesticides by their gang stalkers.
“While en route to the jail, Porter began to complain of chest pain, heart palpitations and his fingers and toes being numb from the pesticide poisoning,” wrote Corcoran, who took Porter to a hospital.
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©2017 the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio)