UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Prince George’s County prosecutors say the first police officer in county history to be charged with murdering a suspect, repeatedly pulled the trigger even though the handcuffed man was no threat at all.
Former Prince George’s County Police Corporal Michael Owen Jr. is accused of killing 43-year-old William Green, who after a series of traffic accidents was in handcuffs in the front seat of Owen’s patrol car in January 2020 when Owen allegedly shot and killed him.
“He was shot six times -- he was not a threat,” prosecutor Joel Patterson told jurors Tuesday during the opening moments in the long-awaited trial. “This was not self-defense. This was murder."
Patterson said Owen fired his gun after the men argued about Green’s demand that he be allowed to urinate after 30 minutes in custody.
But Owen’s defense team said the murder charge was the result of a hasty and faulty investigation that rushed to charge Owen before he had even been interviewed by investigators.
“Everything since is based on a narrative that is not true,” attorney Thomas Mooney told jurors. “They never got it right."
Mooney alleged former PGPD Chief Hank Stawinski misled the public by holding a press conference the day after the shooting saying there was no evidence of drug use or a struggle in the car. Mooney claims evidence in the trial will show that Green was under the influence of PCP and alcohol and there is evidence of a struggle that occurred inside Owen’s police car before gunfire broke out.
“The evidence will show there was a violent struggle inside the vehicle and that shots ensued as a result of that struggle,” Mooney said.
He said the struggle was so violent that it resulted in damaged radio and computer equipment. Mooney added that Green was not restrained by a seatbelt when the alleged violence occurred.
The defense attorney told jurors that Owen stopped shooting before exhausting all the ammunition in his gun, immediately called for assistance and started to render aid in the seconds after the shooting in an attempt to save Green’s life. Owen was not wearing a body camera at the time of the incident on Jan. 27, 2020.
The deadly shooting occurred after a 911 caller reported Green had struck several vehicles while driving between Silver Hill and Temple Hills. Both sides in this case say it is undisputed that Green was handcuffed behind his back in the front seat of Owen’s police car, and that Owen fired six shots that hit Green.
The shooting occurred in the months before the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd sparked nationwide social justice protests.
Owen’s trial began after years of delays, including a plea agreement that failed as Green’s family objected to allowing him to admit to lesser voluntary manslaughter charges.
Green’s family was awarded a $20 million wrongful death settlement by Prince George’s County within months of the shooting. At the time, the county’s attorney said authorities were faced with a set of “bad facts” that were uncontested.