EVENDALE, Ohio — The Lockland police officer who shot and killed 48-year-old Samuel Mumyarutete on the side of I-75 the morning of March 19 will not face charges, Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich announced Monday.
During a press conference, Pillich showed body camera footage from a Hamilton County sheriff's deputy as they were headed to where the Lockland officer encountered Mumyarutete on the side of I-75.
West Chester police first reported a pursuit of a stolen vehicle in Butler County. The department said officers attempted to pull over a car once their license plate reader notified them that it was stolen. The car's driver would not stop, leading officers on a chase to the Hamilton County line.
At that point, West Chester police stopped their pursuit and Sharonville officers picked it up, Pillich said. Officers from multiple other Hamilton County jurisdictions were also called to assist in a search for the suspects who fled from police.
Pillich said the car first traveled west on I-275, then exited onto Route 4 before heading back east on I-275 at speeds of over 100 mph. From there, Pillich said the car headed down Mosteller Road, where Sharonville police took over the chase. The vehicle then went down Medallion Drive, heading through an industrial area in Sharonville.
Evendale police said the vehicle involved in the pursuit was found crashed near the intersection of Glendale Milford Road and Evendale Drive. However, no suspects were on scene.
Pillich said when police found the car, it had crashed into a guard rail; all of the car doors were opened, but there was no one inside, Pillich said. From there, police began searching the nearby area on foot, Pillich said.
Lockland police said one suspect was located and taken into custody. Then, police said an officer identified someone believed to be a suspect walking along I-75. That man was Samuel Mumyarutete.
Police said in the press release the officer reported Mumyarutete had something in his hands and refused to obey commands. The officer used a Taser, which police said did not stop Mumyarutete. The officer then "had to resort to his firearm," police said.
Pillich said Mumyarutete wielded a metal rod or pipe at officers, holding it back over his shoulder like a weapon, and charged at the officer. That cannot be seen in the body camera footage, however.
The body camera footage from the Hamilton County sheriff's deputy headed to the scene picks up as that deputy is jogging along the side of the highway with a K-9. The deputy is still far from the scene when the camera footage starts, but blue flashing lights can be seen in the distance.
"[INAUDIBLE] at gunpoint now," can be heard coming from the deputy's radio.
At that point, the deputy begins to run faster toward the flashing lights.
"Need you guys to step it up [INAUDIBLE] please," says someone over the radio as the deputy approaches.
The deputy runs closer to the scene and shouts multiple times for someone to stop, or they'll be bit by the dog. At that point, two figures can be seen on the camera, but it's impossible to tell which figure is the Lockland officer and which is Mumyarutete.
Immediately after the deputy once more yells "stop, or you're gonna get bit," five shots can be heard. The deputy then relays that shots were fired over his radio.
You can watch body camera footage released by the prosecutor's office below:
By the time the deputy actually gets to the scene, Mumyarutete is already on the ground.
Both the Lockland officer and the deputy begin yelling for Mumyarutete to show his hands and drop the weapon.
Pillich pointed to a still from the body camera footage in which a slender, long object can be seen near Mumyarutete, though it's very unclear what the item may be. Pillich said she did not pick up and observe the item at the scene herself, but she described it as a metal rod or pipe.
Below is a higher resolution image from the prosecutor's office that more clearly shows the alleged weapon.
Mumyarutete was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pillich said after investigating the shooting, officials still cannot definitively link Mumyarutete to the stolen vehicle in any way.
"We don't know why he was there," said Pillich. "It's certainly a tragedy all around."
Lockland Police Chief Michael Ott said Lockland officers are not yet equipped with body cameras of their own; the department has been working to secure the cameras since the fall, however, and all officers are scheduled to be outfitted with them by mid-April, Ott said.
"It's been a priority for us," said Ott at the press conference.
Ott also acknowledged that Lockland has a growing immigrant population, and that he was aware of claims that a language barrier may have played a part in the March shooting. He said the department plans to look for ways to better support officers in dynamic, evolving situations that may involve people who don't fluently speak English.
Watch a breakdown of the body camera footage below:
Ott said he has convened a use of force panel staffed by both internal and external officials to perform a thorough review to make sure Lockland Police Deparment procedures were followed in the shooting; he said his department will share the panel's findings publicly when they are finalized.
In a statement issued in the days following the shooting, Mumyarutete's family said he is a refugee from Congo who "was not fluent in English, and often relied on a cell phone translation app."
"Although we know the police were involved in a high speed chase in the area, we have received no information that our father was involved in any aspect of that chase," Mumyarutete's family said. "We believe he may have been an innocent bystander."
Lockland police said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations was called to the scene and is investigating the shooting. That investigation is still ongoing.
