CINCINNATI, Ohio —Newly released body-worn camera footage shows the moment a man attacked officers with a baseball bat and an axe before an officer-involved shooting, WCPO reported.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich announced that sheriff’s deputies who shot the man during the Feb. 28 incident will not face charges, according to the report. The man has been charged with five counts of felonious assault on an officer.
Incident overview
The incident began when deputies responded to reports of a man chasing people with a bat near Columbia Township, according to the report. Body camera footage shows an officer speaking with the man at his front door, reminding him that they had already talked earlier that day.
Moments later, the man swung an aluminum baseball bat at the deputy, forcing officers to retreat. Despite repeated commands to drop the bat, the man threw it at the deputies before going back inside his home.
The man then returned with an axe, running toward the deputies before turning and running along the sidewalk. A deputy fired a non-lethal bean bag round, but the suspect continued fleeing. A deputy then fired a shot, striking the man in the hand. After being hit, the man switched the axe to his uninjured hand and threw it at the officers before charging at them.
Footage shows him appearing to reach for a deputy’s gun, at which point officers fired two additional shots, hitting him in the side.
Despite commands to stay down, the man continued to resist while being handcuffed. Deputies provided life-saving aid, and he was transported to a hospital where he remains in critical condition, according to the report.
Investigation and response
Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey stated that officers attempted multiple non-lethal methods before resorting to lethal force, including bean bag rounds and a TASER.
“Our officers acted exactly as they were trained, they de-escalated,” McGuffey said. “They did exactly the right thing.”
Pillich also praised the deputies for remaining calm during the chaotic situation, according to the report.
No officers were injured. Those involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave and provided mental health support.
