Video in Cincinnati cop's fatal shooting now with prosecutor

Isabelle Chapman
Updated
Cincinnati Police Officer Sonny Kim Funeral: Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley's Remarks at Officer Kim's Service
Cincinnati Police Officer Sonny Kim Funeral: Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley's Remarks at Officer Kim's Service



CINCINNATI (AP) — Police dash-camera video from the fatal shooting of a Cincinnati police officer in June has been turned over to a prosecutor who pledges he won't willingly make it public.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters and city officials said he issued a grand jury subpoena for the video and city police turned it over to him. Deters said Tuesday that the video is part of a grand jury investigation. He said police agencies in the county by standard practice refer all cases involving discharge of a police officer's firearm to his office for review.

Another Cincinnati officer fatally shot the man who killed the veteran officer, Sonny Kim. Kim died June 19 after responding to a 911 call that police say the armed suspect made in an attempt at "suicide by cop."

News media have requested the video. Kim's wife, Jessica Kim, has said the video would be upsetting to their children and she doesn't want it released publicly.

See photos of Kim's funeral service:

"For my kids, witnessing their father lying helplessly on the ground will only add to the devastation that they have already felt," she wrote to city officials. "Sonny was their rock, strong and protective. They should not have to see a broken image of their father like that."

News organizations have requested the video under Ohio public records laws.

Several organizations, including The Associated Press, last month filed a lawsuit against Deters when he refused to release police body-camera video involving the July 19 fatal shooting of a motorist in a traffic stop by a University of Cincinnati police officer. Deters later released that video after announcing a murder indictment against Officer Ray Tensing, who has pleaded not guilty.

Deters told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he tries to be transparent but has no plans to release the Kim video publicly.

"There is nothing short of a court order that would make me release this video," he said. "And that means nothing short of an order from the Ohio Supreme Court."

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