PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — A historic trial in Prince George's County has reached a conclusion, with a jury finding former Cpl. Michael Owen Jr. not guilty of murder charges.
Owen was the first police officer in county history to be charged with murdering a suspect while on duty. He was charged in the shooting death of 43-year-old William Green.
On Jan. 27, 2020, Green was arrested, handcuffed and placed in the front seat of Owen's patrol car after a series of traffic crashes. The jury was told Owen shot Green six times, killing him. The former officer was fired and charged with second-degree murder within days of the deadly shooting, and the county agreed to settle with Green's family for $20 million only months after the killing.
After nearly four years of delays, and a failed plea agreement that Green's family was vehemently opposed to, Owen's trial began Nov. 27 before Judge Michael Pearson.
The defense, including Owen's own testimony, argued that the officer fired in self-defense after Green began violently thrashing in the car, causing Owen’s gun to come out of its holster. Owen said Green got his hands on the gun despite being cuffed behind his back. After a shot was fired during the struggle, Owen said he gained control of the gun and fired at Green to stop him.
Throughout the trial the defense consistently maintained Green was high on PCP and alcohol, and said the struggle between the two men was so violent that electronic equipment inside the car was left broken.
Prosecutors presented a different story, telling jurors that Owen had repeatedly pulled the trigger on a handcuffed man who was not endangering his life, and even alleged that Green was ultimately killed because he urinated in Owen's car.
“He was shot six times -- he was not a threat,” prosecutor Joel Patterson told jurors. "This was not self-defense. This was murder."
Owen's attorneys attempted to get the second-degree murder charge dropped because they said prosecutors failed to prove Owen had any "malice or forethought" before pulling the trigger. Malice and forethought are key elements to sustain a second-degree murder conviction. Owen's legal 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.
But the judge denied the motion to dismiss the murder charge.
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The defense's police use of force expert, Emanuel Kapelsohn, testified that the shooting was justified and "consistent with police use of force training," while the prosecution's expert, former FBI agent Dr. Tyrone Power, testified he found no evidence to support the claim of a fight in the car, and thus disagreed that Owen's life was ever in danger.
"He shouldn’t have used deadly force at all," Power said.
At the start of the trial 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.
Following the verdict, the Prince George's County Police Department released a statement saying Owens remains suspended without pay at this time and that an internal administrative review will continue.