The Cincinnati Police Department released the body camera footage from Monday’s fatal shooting in Covington during a press conference this morning. There were two body camera videos and three still images released.
On Monday, Cincinnati Police officers Charles Knapp, Mark Longworth and other members of the CPD’s Fugitive Response team were working alongside the Covington Police Department in order to find out information regarding the murder of 28-year old Christian Jones that took place last week. Jones was found dead in a crashed car on Bassett Road in East Price Hill.
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20-year old Ali Coulter was wanted for the murder of Jones. Cincinnati and Covington Police were on the scene at 18th and Garrard streets in Covington. Officers were at the house trying to speak with the mother of the man who had an open homicide warrant for his arrest.
“This a unit, a small unit, with a supervisor and a half dozen officers or so,” Interim Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theege said of the CPD Fugitive Response team. “They are tasked with going out and attempting to locate and place under arrest some of our city’s and surrounding areas’ most violent offenders. That is not a responsibility that they take lightly. They are tactically sound and they always try to accomplish their goal using the least amount of force necessary.”
The first video Cincinnati Police released was from Knapp’s body camera. Knapp moved into the backyard area where he advanced through the back gate.
Coulter was leaving through the backdoor of the house. Knapp ensues to chase after Coulter, at which point Coulter hops a fence. Knapp is unable to smoothly hop the fence, so he corrects course and moved back to the front of the house.
Coulter was shot as he emerged from an alleyway between two homes where he was carrying a loaded handgun. Officers demanded Coutler “drop the gun” before they fired a shot.
After Coulter was shot, he stumbled into the front yard and collapsed.
From the vantagepoint of Longworth’s body camera footage, Longworth was initially in the front of the house. Longworth ran to the back of the house after hearing shouting.
Once Knapp couldn’t get over the fence, Longworth followed Knapp back to the front of the house. By the time Longworth drew his gun, shots had already been fired at Coulter.
According the Theege, officers at the scene did render aid to Coulter once they knew the scene was safe. All Cincinnati Police officers have basic life saving training from the Cincinnati Police Academy.
“It is important to note here that once the officers discharge their weapons, they have a couple of responsibilities,” Theege said. “They first have to make sure the scene is safe, then they are to render aid.”
Theege met with Coulter’s family this morning. As a mother of three sons, Theege said she couldn’t imagine going through something like this. Theege said the conversation between herself and the family was private, and that she would not divulge any details. Although she did note that under the current circumstances, she personally thought the family was “tremendously strong.”
Theege said the officers turned their body cameras on when they were approaching the house. Police knew Coulter was armed when they chased him into the back yard. According to Theege, officers did not have personal knowledge Coulter was in the home when they initially approached.
“The officers have to take every fact into account when making that determination. Every incident is different,” Theege said. “Every single incident is different. What these officers encountered was Mr. Coulter coming towards them, firearm in his hand, wanted for murder, 9:30 on a Monday morning in a residential neighborhood. They have to take all of that into their determination to use force.”
Both Knapp and Longworth were interviewed yesterday by Kentucky State Police investigators. Both officers are on administrative leave which is normal protocol for Cincinnati Police officers that were involved in a critical incident. Before they return back to work, both officers will be seen by a police psychologist.
Interim Cincinnati City Manager John Curp said he has been in contact with Covington City Manager Ken Smith.
Curp said other members of the city administration had been in contact with the KSP, and they understood Cincinnati would be releasing the body camera footage today. Curp said he reached out to Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders yesterday and was “not able to communicate with him.”
“Our city’s priority is transparency. We had this commitment for over 20 years to provide information as quickly and transparently as possible. We value that commitment,” Curp said.
However, Sanders said Cincinnati Police should not have released body camera footage of the officers because the investigation is ongoing.
“When videos are released, there is no way for investigators to differentiate between true witnesses and people who just watched the news and now claim to be witnesses,” Sanders told LINK nky. “If an investigation results in charges, it becomes impossible to find a jury which hasn’t been tainted by receiving evidence outside the courtroom before a trial ever began. Trials should be held in a court of law, not the court of public opinion.”
The Kentucky State Police, who are handling the investigation, have jurisdiction over Cincinnati police releasing the videos. Sanders said “jurisdiction is something the City of Cincinnati is very cavalier in ignoring. This is a Kentucky investigation. The evidence is subject to a Kentucky Grand Jury subpoena. I have never in my career witnessed such a flagrant lack of respect, not to mention professional courtesy, for another jurisdiction’s authority.”
