Maryland Officer Held Without Bond Over On-Duty Shooting Murder Charge

The Prince George’s County, MD, police corporal charged with murder in the shooting of a handcuffed man was ordered held without bond Wednesday, and the county prosecutor said she would review a 2011 fatal shooting by the officer that was previously ruled justifiable.

Cpl. Michael A. Owen Jr., 31, was arrested Tuesday night, less than 24 hours after he reportedly shot and killed William Green, 43, of Southeast Washington, police said. Owen was investigating a reported traffic accident in Temple Hills on Monday night and had placed the handcuffed Green into the front passenger seat of his police car before the shooting, police said.

Police initially said there were witness reports of a struggle inside Owen’s cruiser. But in court documents filed Wednesday, police said they could find no signs of a struggle between Owen and Green, and no weapon on Green, the Washington Post reports.

Prince George’s County District Judge Robert W. Heffron Jr. agreed with prosecutors that Owen was a “danger to the community” and ordered him held without bond. Green’s family members, who filled the benches of the courtroom Wednesday, briefly applauded when the judge announced his decision. Green’s fiancee cried when the state’s attorney presented the case.

Owen, who has 10 years’ service on the force, was involved with two earlier shootings, one of them fatal, records show. Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D) has assigned a prosecutor to review the 2011 fatal shooting at the request of the victim’s family, according to spokeswoman Denise Smith.

In that case, Owen fatally shot 35-year-old Rodney Deron Edwards .