CINCINNATI — Two police officers who fired fatal shots into a moving vehicle in Wyoming, Ohio, earlier this week will not face criminal charges, Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers said on Friday.
Powers described the death of Joe Frasure Jr. as “tragic” but ultimately decided the actions of the officers were justifiable and in “self-defense.”
Following the shooting, Frasure’s relatives said he didn’t intend to drive toward the officers, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. But Powers told reporters his intent didn’t matter. The vehicle “sped within feet of the officers,” she said, noting her belief that the decision to open fire saved the officers’ lives.
The prosecutor’s office inquiry into the shooting, she added, hinged on whether the officers behaved reasonably given the circumstances.
“Whether (Frasure) was (trying to) intentionally run the officers over or whether he was trying to flee, we will never know that answer for sure,” Powers said. “But what we do know is that the officers’ lives were threatened, and they felt in danger.”
This fatal police-involved shooting comes on the heels of another fatal police encounter in Memphis, Tenn. Tyre Nichols, 29, was beaten by five Memphis police officers on Jan. 7 and died three days later. The incident sparked protests nationwide.
The shooting in southwest Ohio happened early Monday morning after Wyoming Police Department officers received reports of a possible burglary on Durrell Avenue, per a release from the prosecutor’s office. When the officers arrived, they encountered two people at the back of an apartment building, later identified by Powers as Frasure Jr., 28, and his father, Joseph Frasure Sr., 52.
Police responded to the apartment building on Durrell Avenue after receiving reports of a possible burglary. (Spectrum News 1)
Relatives had told the Enquirer they were at the property to clean out a dead relative’s apartment.
Jay Salyers, who identified himself to Spectrum News as the apartment building’s property manager, said the family was there loading furniture.
“The family had been here working all week cleaning out the grandma’s unit (when) they could and it wasn’t uncommon for him to be here at night,” Salyers said.
“The neighbors knew that,” he added. “The neighbors actually all know the family and knew what they were doing. So, I’m not sure why police calls were made.”
The younger Frasure was behind the wheel of a gray minivan at the time, based on body-camera video released on Friday.
In the video, officers are heard shouting multiple commands to both Frasures, including the following: “Stop. Put your hands in the air. Exit the vehicle. Get on the ground.”
Neither man complied, Powers said.
The footage shows officers surrounding the front and back of the minivan, and then Frasure puts the vehicle in reverse and crashes into a tree. Officers are heard on the video shouting at the driver to stop and get out of the car. As that is taking place, the minivan quickly speeds up forward toward the officers, the video shows.
Powers said the officers — who haven’t been named — continued shouting commands at Frasure to stop “while barely escaping the danger of being struck and potentially killed.”
A neighbor told the Enquirer that it looked as though Frasure tried to drive through the grass to use a neighboring driveway as an exit.
Powers said the officers shot four rounds at the vehicle as it sped toward them. At least one of those shots struck the younger Frasure, she said. Powers said she didn’t know where the bullet hit him.
The vehicle then crashed into the side of the apartment building.
In police body-camera footage seen below, officers are seen approaching the vehicle moments after the shooting. They pulled a seemingly lifeless Frasure out of the minivan and began performing CPR roughly two minutes and 40 seconds after the first gunshot is heard on the video.
Paramedics took Frasure to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He died at the hospital on Jan. 31.
Powers said it was her understanding that no one had permission to be inside the apartment building when the incident occurred because of existing health orders.
The apartment unit where Frasure’s deceased relative lived was condemned after her passing, Salyers told Spectrum News. He said the unit required “quick fixes” but stressed the entire apartment building wasn’t condemned.
“I don’t really know the real purpose, why anyone was inside that building,” Powers said.
Both officers involved in the shooting were put on paid administrative leave, Wyoming Police Chief Brooke Brady said Friday. She said neither officer will face further discipline.
This is a developing story.
WARNING: The police body-camera footage below contains graphic language and images that some may find disturbing.
