Witnesses’ accounts in Green case inconsistent
Columbus police interviewed dozens of potential witnesses in the officer-involved shooting of Henry Green in South Linden. And they were told wildly different stories about what happened, according to investigative files released Monday.
Green died after the confrontation with two plainclothes officers on June 6. Police said officers identified themselves and ordered Green to drop his gun. Green
then shot at the officers, who returned fire. According to the investigation, Green fired six shots, Officer Jason Bare fired seven rounds and Officer Zachary Rosen fired 15 rounds.
Green’s mother, her attorney and some witnesses argued that the officers did not identify themselves and that Green had the gun to protect himself. They called for an independent investigation.
According to the investigation, Bare and Rosen reported at 6: 10 p. m. that someone had pulled a gun on them. Backup headed to the area. At 6: 11 p. m., the officers reported “shots fired.” At 6: 12 p. m., more police were called, and at 6: 17, Green was being transported to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center.
Investigators said Green was carrying a Glock .45 caliber semi- automatic pistol that had been reported stolen in 2012. One witness told police that Green carried a gun because he had been in a fight that spring and needed protection. Green did not have a concealed carry permit.
Christian Rutledge, who had been with Green in the minutes up to the shooting, said Green had an argument with a girl that night. As he walked back to Ontario Street, Rutledge told investigators, Green walked out in front of the officers’ vehicle “because he was mad,” and officers had to brake to avoid hitting Green. He said he and Green encountered the officers again at Duxberry Avenue and Ontario Street, and Rutledge saw the officers pointing their guns at Green. He said he didn’t see Green’s gun, but “stated by the way Mr. Green was standing, he knew he had one,” according to the report.
Rutledge told police that he could tell Bare and Rosen were police officers. He said he didn’t hear them say “drop the gun,” but he did hear them say “You want to up a gun at me, ( expletive)?”
Several witnesses said they didn’t hear the officers identify themselves. Others said the officers wore badges around their necks. Another witness said one of the officers jumped out of the car and started shooting, and Green returned fire. One woman said she saw Green start shooting at the plainclothes officers. Another woman reported that she saw two officers standing over Green as he lay on the ground and that one officer fired at Green. One woman said Green was in a white SUV when officers pointed guns at him.
An autopsy showed that Green had been shot seven times. Most of the shots were to the front of Green’s body, but one bullet entered in the upper right back. Green’s blood tested positive for THC, the intoxicant found in marijuana, and for ethanol, or alcohol.
Sean Walton, an attorney for Green’s family, said none of the witness statements corroborated the officers’ version of what happened before Green was shot and killed. “The statements may differ in some of the details but overall, nobody heard the officers announce themselves as officers before they opened fire on Henry,” Walton said. No information about the officers’ backgrounds or credibility was included in the investigation file, Walton noted.
On March 24, a Franklin County grand jury decided not to indict Officers Bare or Rosen in the death. The city’s Firearms Review Board is still reviewing the case.
Columbus Police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said the department will let the investigation speak for itself. He said people who want to read the case files themselves can file a records request.
“Now that the case has been before the grand jury, this is the time when the investigation becomes public,” Weiner said. “Sometimes people confuse timeliness with openness, but we are constantly striving to be transparent.”