GLENDALE, Ohio – Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters called the officer who shot a knife-wielding man on I-75 last week "one brave individual" before releasing body camera video to the public Tuesday.
The March 29 incident closed the highway for several hours and raised questions about why the man -- suspected in a fatal stabbing three weeks ago in Maryland -- was here in the first place.
Deters said no charges would be filed against Glendale Police Officer Josh Hilling, 30, who fired one shot at Javier Pablo Aleman after a confrontation. The prosecutor's office completed its investigation of the shooting Tuesday.
The dramatic body cam footage reveals Aleman, 46, demanded to be shot multiple times and waved a large knife while staggering around I-75.
After being stopped for walking on southbound I-75, Aleman grew confrontational when Hilling tried to pat him down, and Hilling shot Aleman once in the abdomen. The video shows Aleman refusing to comply with Hilling’s orders for several minutes before being dispatched with a Taser.
WATCH the body camera video in the player above. (WARNING: The video contains language and images some might find disturbing.)
“I’m not going to speak for the chief or the sheriff, but Joshua Hilling deserves a medal for what he did,” Deters said.
"He got a bad hombre off the street," added Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil.
Officers quickly discovered Aleman was wanted in connection to the March 17 stabbing death of Victor Adolfo Serrano, 51. Police say Serrano was found suffering multiple stab wounds in Dundalk, Maryland, east of Baltimore. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Deters said there is a high probability that the knife Aleman waved at Hilling was the murder weapon used in Baltimore.
Jim Neil: Josh did an excellent job. After you see the video you can only pray and wish every officer was that top quality. @WCPO
— Kristen Swilley (@KristenSwilley) April 5, 2016
Aleman is being held in Cincinnati on charges of attempted murder and will come before a grand jury by April 13. He faces a potential prison sentence of 11 years in Ohio.
Deters said these charges give law enforcement in Baltimore additional time to conduct DNA tests related to their case against Aleman. Aleman remains hospitalized at UC Medical Center, but police had no update on his condition.
No charges will be filed against Hilling, who has previously been commended by the village of Glendale. Police said Hilling has been approved to return to work as an officer after being on paid leave since the shooting.
Hilling has had a clean personnel file and good performance reviews since joining the Glendale Police Department as a part-time officer in 2011, WCPO determined after examining his file. Hilling had been a full-time officer just 12 weeks when he shot Aleman.
In Hilling's last performance review, Glendale Police Chief Dave Warman gave him a 4.5 on a 1-to-5 scale, rating him very good or exceptional in all 12 areas and writing:
"P.O. Hilling is aggressive in his enforcement duties but also exercises significant discretion in his decision making. He is dependable and available for extra duties when needed. Josh is well-liked by his peers and has unlimited growth potential with the department."
Hilling was working as a part-time officer at Kings Island and Xavier University when he went to work for Glendale in August, 2008, according to his job application.
WCPO live-tweeted Deters' news conference. You can see a moment-by-moment recap below:
