UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Nearly four years after former Prince George’s County police officer became the first in county history to be charged with murdering a suspect, a trial in the delay-plagued case has begun.
Along the way, prosecutors were accused by a judge of “dropping the ball in the case,” and the victim’s family has demanded justice.
Jury selection began Monday in the second-degree murder case against former Prince George’s County Police Corporal Michael Owen Jr.
Owen is accused of killing William Green, who after a car crash and possible medical emergency, was in handcuffs in the front seat of Owen’s patrol car in January of 2020 when Owen allegedly shot Green seven times, killing him.
The circumstances of the case were so egregious, Owen was fired and charged with second degree murder within days, making him the first police officer in county history to face murder charges while on the job.
Prince George's County, facing facts that one county attorney said were worse than the Breonna Taylor or George Floyd cases, agreed to settle with Green's family for $20 million only months after the killing.
Monday's trial begins after Green's family sharply protested a proposed plea deal in February that would have let Owen off with a lesser voluntary manslaughter conviction. As the deal fell apart, a judge scorched Prince George's County prosecutors for “dropping the ball” in the case and “sandbagging” after the judge learned that prosecutors had failed to share key information with the defense.
Neither side was ready to go to trial at the time, forcing yet another 9-month delay.
Green's family said whether they win or lose in the trial, Owen facing a jury of his peers to be held accountable is what they've been demanding all along.