TEMPLE HILLS, Md. — Prince George's County neighbors are expressing shock and anger that a police officer -- sworn to protect the citizens -- could allegedly shoot and kill a man in handcuffs.
Cpl. Michael Anthony Owen, a PG police officer, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of William Green, who was fatally shot in the front seat of a patrol car while he was handcuffed.
Police originally said Green sideswiped a number of vehicles on Winston Street in Temple Hills. You can still see the damage and debris on the roadway.
According to charging documents released Wednesday, Owen was called to the scene and was told by a witness that Green was in his car sleeping.
A neighbor on Winston Street said he called 911, while other residents told police they followed Green from another street where he had hit a number of other cars. But how it escalated from a crash to a killing is still a mystery.
The incident has left neighbors shaken and afraid of the officers who are supposed to protect them.
"That could have been my husband," a woman, who was too scared to let us use her name, said. "We live on this street. My husband lives on this street. He could have came down, and they could have pulled him over. And for them to have the man handcuffed and in the seatbelt and then shot him seven times? It just seems like a lot of black folk are getting shot."
Cpl. Owen is accused of shooting two other people in the last decade, but he was not charged in either incident, according to police records. In 2011, he fatally shot a man who allegedly threatened him with a revolver. Another man attempted to rob him outside his home in 2009.
"It only takes a few bad officers to ruin a district or a department," Bob Ross of the NAACP said.
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Activist Quiana Johnson was so mad that Owen was still on the street that she went to the news conference announcing the murder charges against Owen.
"It should be on every leader's hands, it should be on everyone's hands," she said.
"We share your concern," County Executive Angela Alsobrooks responded. "We understand you're upset. And you're not alone.
Owen was placed on administrative leave Monday evening, and taken into custody late Tuesday afternoon. The incident was not caught on a body camera, as Owen was not wearing one, according to police.
Alsobrooks noted that the 2019 budget funded the first installation of body cameras within the department, and that the 2020 budget will fund body cameras for every officer in the department.
Angelo Consoli, president of the Prince George's police union, called it a tragedy for everyone involved, and offered his sympathies to Green's family.
"There are no circumstances under which this outcome was acceptable," Prince George's County Police Chief Hank Stawinski said.