Colerain Twp. cop cleared in teen’s shooting

Colerain Township Police Chief Mark Denney says the prosecutor’s office has cleared the officer who shot a 16-year-old teen in March.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters sent a letter to the township saying his office has reviewed the investigation conducted by the Cincinnati Police Department’s Homicide Unit into the March 28 shooting of the armed suspect and decided the police officer committed no violation of Ohio law. The review is closed, pending additional information.

The officer returned to work about a week after the shooting, Denney said. The Colerain Police Department’s review of the incident found no violations of department policies or procedures.

Detectives from the Colerain Township Police Department were attempting to arrest suspects March 28, who had allegedly committed two armed robberies in the township. The robberies involved listing items on Craigslist and robbing people who came to buy them.

Special Investigative Unit detectives feigning interest in buying an item from an advertisement arranged a meeting. As the seller approached their vehicle, another subject, a 16-year-old male, showed up with a firearm. Police said the teen got into the back of the detective’s car and pointed a .45-caliber handgun at the officer’s head.

The detective got out of the car, and as the suspects fled, two other Colerain police officers, coming to the aid of the detectives confronted a suspect. One of the officers fired his weapon – a Sig Sauer 9 mm handgun – and the armed suspect was struck in the hand and dropped his weapon.

The officer who fired his gun was placed on administrative leave for 72 hours after the shooting, and the township requested an independent investigation by the Cincinnati Police Department. An assistant from the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office also reviewed the incident, as is typical in officer-involved shootings, Denney said. That review showed no violations of the law.