No charges against Fairfield officer who shot armed man in road
The officer allegedly asked the man to drop the gun multiple times before the man adopted a “shooting stance.”
HAMILTON, Ohio (WXIX) - A Butler County grand jury has declined to indict a Fairfield police officer who shot an armed man earlier this month.
The shooting happened on June 5 on Port Union Road. The Fairfield Township Police Department released an account that evening.
Officers were dispatched to investigate a 911 hang-up call. They found a man in the road, and as officers were talking to him, they saw he had a gun.
Police later identified the man as 36-year-old Rodolfo Molina-Hernandez.
Officer Robert Davis ordered Molina-Hernandez to drop the gun multiple times, but he refused, according to police. At one point, police say, Molina-Hernandez assumed “a shooting stance” and pointed the gun at Davis.
In response, Davis fired several rounds, striking the man, police say.
Other officers performed life-saving measures on Molina-Hernandez. EMS transported him in stable condition. He has since been released and faces charges of aggravated menacing.
No officers were injured.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation performed the investigation at the request of Fairfield PD. Davis was placed on administrative leave following the shooting.
Radio traffic released days after the shooting revealed Davis speculating in the immediate aftermath that the gun Molina-Hernandez had been holding was a “toy.” BCI later confirmed the gun was in fact real.
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser described the BCI investigation as “impartial and independent” in a statement Thursday.
Gmoser also explained it’s the practice of his office to require that all officer-involved shootings be considered by a grand jury “regardless of apparent justification.”
The grand jury returned no indictment against Davis Thursday afternoon.
Said Gmoser, “The incident was captured on the subject officer’s body camera and the video is being released for public view. It should be apparent to all that pointing a firearm at a police officer in the performance of his or her duties carries a high probability that lethal force to eliminate the threat will result.”
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