Grand Jury Clears Officers In Two Butler County Shootings
HAMILTON, Ohio — A Butler County Grand Jury has declined to indict officers involved in two separate police shootings this year in Middletown and West Chester, finding their actions were legally justified. In a release issued Tuesday, Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser (pictured) said it is his practice to present all officer-involved shootings to a grand jury, regardless of the circumstances, in an effort to maintain public trust and transparency. The first case stemmed from an April 17 encounter between Middletown police officers and 22-year-old Donald Madden. According to prosecutors, officers were attempting to arrest Madden on an existing warrant and for allegedly brandishing a firearm at officers the previous day. During the encounter, Madden allegedly fired a pistol at officers, who returned fire and wounded him. Prosecutors said officers used only the force necessary to stop the threat. Madden survived and later was indicted on a 10-count indictment that includes attempted aggravated murder. His case remains pending.
The second incident occurred June 4 at an apartment on Zinnia Court in West Chester Township. Officers responded to a report of a violent domestic assault involving a woman who had reportedly been thrown down a flight of stairs. After hearing a woman in distress inside the residence, officers forced entry and located 40-year-old Lorenzo Miller in an upstairs bathroom holding a large kitchen knife to a woman's throat. Prosecutors said the woman had been beaten and suffered cuts while attempting to pry the knife away.
According to the prosecutor's report, a West Chester officer fired a single shot, killing Miller and ending the threat. Gmoser described the officer's actions as heroic, saying the shot immediately caused Miller to release the knife and saved the woman's life.
Separate grand jury reports filed in Butler County Common Pleas Court found no basis for criminal charges against officers involved in either incident, returning no indictments in both cases. Gmoser said the evidence reviewed by the grand jury included complete investigations conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, along with body camera footage from both incidents.
