Jawari Porter, 25

Cincinnati, Ohio
August 07, 2016

Agencies: Cincinnati Police Department Ohio | Citizen Complaint Authority Cincinnati Ohio

Cause of death: Shooting

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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

Near the scene of Sunday's shooting, police union president, Sgt. Dan Hils, addressed the media and then responded to questions from a crowd of about 20 people who gathered around him.

Among the questions: Why wasn't a Taser used? Why shoot to kill?

"Enough is enough!" one man shouted.

Hils, a 29-year veteran and a trained crisis negotiator, said he didn't have information about the incident, and worked to diffuse the building tension.

He said an officer who is being attacked doesn't have time to choose a body part to aim for. Officers, he said, are trained to "shoot center-mass." That's the only way to ensure an attacker is stopped.

Hils said most officers don't fire their weapons during their careers.

"The last thing I'd ever want to do is discharge my firearm," he said.

Sunday's incident was the third fatal police shooting involving on-duty Cincinnati police officers this year. On Jan. 12, officers shot and killed 45-year-old Robert Tenbrink after he reached for the BB gun he used to rob several stores. In February, multiple officers shot and killed Paul Gaston, 37, after he reached for a gun in the waistband of his pants. In May, an off-duty officer working security at a Fifth Third Bank branch in Madisonville shot and killed a man who vaulted over a counter and tried to rob the bank.

Legal Action

On Monday, August 8, 2016, the city released soundless video of the shooting after a prosecutor concluded that the Sunday morning shooting was justified. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters (DEE’-turs) said 25-year-old Jawari Porter tried to stab the officer with a “folding lock-blade-style knife.”