Cincinnati Police’s Fugitive Apprehension Squad went to Covington Monday morning to interview the mother of a person suspected in a Hamilton County killing when the suspect, who police say they didn’t know was inside, came outside with a gun pointed at them, according to Lt. Col. Theresa A. Theetge.
Body camera footage, police said, showed that when the officers arrived at the home near 18th and Garrard streets, they instructed the man to drop the gun, but he continued forward.
“Our officers were forced to utilize their training to stop the threat,” Theetge said in a release.
Sources told WCPO the person police shot and killed is Ali Coulter, a 20-year-old wanted in connection with the killing of Christian Jones, according to court documents.
The officers had gone to the Covington home to speak with the suspect’s mother, whom they hoped could help them find Coulter’s whereabouts, police said.
“Going across state lines to conduct interviews is typical for this unit,” Theetge said in a release. “As protocol, members of the Covington Police Department were with CPD’s Fugitive Apprehensive Squad. Even though some of our officers on the Fugitive Apprehension Squad are in plain clothes, they are all equipped with body-worn cameras that were activated at the time of the shooting.”
Kentucky State Police is investigating, but Cincinnati police is also conducting their own investigations, the release said.
“Anytime there is a loss of life, it is a traumatic and tragic situation for everyone involved,” Theetge said. “Our officers thought they were going to interview the mother of a murder suspect and ultimately had to use deadly force in front of her.”