From [HERE] and [HERE] A mistrial has been declared in a federal civil rights lawsuit against two racist suspect Columbus police officers who shot and killed a 23-year-old Black man while the officers were in plainclothes in June 2016.

Henry Green V, 23, was shot and killed during a confrontation with Columbus Police Officers Zachary Rosen and Jason Bare, who were in plainclothes, in the South Linden neighborhood.

A docket entry noted “jurors cannot come to a unanimous decision. Mistrial declared.” Meredith Tucker, spokeswoman for Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, confirmed the mistrial late Wednesday.

Sean L. Walton, representing the Green family, released the following statement on the court’s decision:

Despite today’s outcome, we know the public has now learned the truth about Henry Green V’s death at the hands of Columbus Police Officers Zachary Rosen and Jason Bare. Although we know it is difficult for some to believe police officers could act so heinously, our belief is that these officers will soon be held accountable for their actions. Henry’s family, led by his mother Adrienne Hood, has fought for accountability relentlessly since June 6, 2016. The inability of this jury to reach a decision does not change that mission. The city of Columbus has been put on notice, and we will continue to aggressively tell the truth that Zachary Rosen, Jason Bare, and the Columbus Division of Police choose not to. We look forward to our next day in court.

Green’s estate could pursue a new trial.

“We’ll move forward from there,” Hood said. “I have to stay in this for even longer. I’ll be in it, obviously, for the rest of my life. But it’s been an emotional week and a half. I definitely would have liked a for-sure win today, but I did not lose. There’s the ability to fight again.”

According to the complaint:

On June 6, 2016, around 6:00 pm, Henry Green was in in his Linden neighborhood, located in Columbus, Ohio. He was walking down the street with a friend, headed to dinner at his aunt’s house, located on Duxberry Ave.

As he and his friend walked down East 26th Ave and approached the intersection of Ontario St., they encountered a white SUV that swerved as if trying to hit them.

As they jumped back, they noticed two white males in the SUV, and they watched the SUV as it turned right on to Gerbert Rd., which was parallel to the street they had then began walking down, Ontario St.

On heightened alert and unaware of the intentions of the individuals in the white SUV, Henry and his friend watched the vehicle continue down Gerbert Rd., and as they approached the intersection of Ontario St. and Duxberry Ave., they saw the white SUV speeding down Duxberry Ave. towards them.

According to interviews conducted by the Critical Incident Response Team of the Columbus Division of Police on June 22, 2016, Officers Bare and Rosen were in the white SUV and in plainclothes, working the Community Safety Initiative.

Officer Bare stated that he was wearing camouflage shorts, a gray t-shirt, and a ball. Officer Bare stated his badge was displayed on his chest and hanging from a lanyard outside his shirt. Officer Rosen stated that he was wearing blue jeans, a blue t-shirt and his badge was “hanging from a metal (chain) lanyard.”

Officer Bare stated that upon driving through the intersection at 26th Ave. and Ontario St., Henry walked into the street towards them and lifted his shirt up at the waist to display a pistol in his front waistband.

Officer Bare stated that they aired Henry’s description over the radio, turned down Duxberry and drove toward Ontario St., where they again encountered Henry. Officer Bare stated that when they stopped in front of him, Henry lifted his shirt to grab the black pistol, pulled it from his waistband.

Officer Bare stated that both he and Officer Rosen yelled “Police,” “put your gun down”, or “words to that effect,” while he used his right hand to lift and flash his badge towards Henry.

Officer Bare stated that Henry refused to comply with their commands and instead raised his weapon and pointed it at Officer Rosen.

Officer Bare stated that Henry advanced toward Officer Rosen and he heard several gunshots, which he believed were from Henry.

Officer Bare stated that he fired a total of seven shots at Henry. Officer Rosen stated that as he and Officer Bare were driving they encountered Henry, who continued walking into the street as if he wanted to force them to stop or strike him.

Officer Rosen stated that Henry lifted his shirt and flashed his gun, as if he was trying to get him to slow down so that he could car jack him.

Officer Rosen stated that as they drove by, he saw Henry in his left side view mirror aiming the pistol at their vehicle.

Officer Rosen stated that as they approached Henry at the next intersection, Officer Rosen upholstered his pistol.

Officer Rosen stated at this point Henry reached into his waistband and pulled his pistol.

Officer Rosen stated that he raised and pointed his pistol at Henry through the front windshield and put the car in park.

Officer Rosen stated that he pointed his pistol between the gap between the “A” pillar on the driver’s side of the vehicle and the open driver’s side door and shouted “police” and “don’t move” or “words to that effect.”Officer Rosen stated that Henry did not comply and instead raised his weapon towards Officer Rosen. Officer Rosen stated that because he believed Henry was “firing or about to fire his weapon” he then made the decision to begin firing at Henry.

Officer Rosen stated that he fired his weapon a total of fifteen times. Officer Rosen stated that Henry did not comply with his commands and he “fired/returned fire” at him.

In his interview with the Columbus Division of Police, Officer Rosen stated people were coming off their porches yelling, “Why did you shoot him?”

Although Henry Green V is not alive to tell his account of the events of June 6, 2016, numerous witnesses have given their accounts of the day in question.

Witness #1 stated that Henry did not pull a weapon on the white SUV while on E. 26th Ave. He stated that there was no indication by Officers Bare or Rosen that they were police officers, neither officer identified themselves as police officers, neither officer had their badge visible, the officers reacted extremely quickly and aggressively, and the officers fired prior to Henry ever raising a weapon at the officers or firing at them. He stated that they continued to walk towards Henry and fire at him, even as he lay on the ground. He stated that he did not know they were officers until they placed Henry in handcuffs on the ground.

Witness #2 stated that Henry did not have a gun out when he encountered him that day. He stated that the white SUV sped down Duxberry Ave. before coming to an abrupt stop in front of Henry. He stated that he noticed the driver had a gun pointed at the window as he drove down the street. He stated that the officers fired so quickly that he believed the shots were fired almost as soon as they exited the vehicle. He stated that they did not identify themselves as officers and did not have any badge visible. He stated that Officers Bare and Rosen began firing at Henry first, and eventually Henry was able to pull and raise his gun to defend himself. He stated that the officers continued to fire on Henry, even as Henry lay on the ground. He did not know that they were officers until they handcuffed Henry on the ground. He also stated that his fiancée and young children were outside in the backdrop and he feared for their safety.

Witness #3 stated that she was standing outside when she saw the encounter unfold. She had seen Henry walking that day “minding his own business,” although she did not know him personally. She stated that the SUV was driving down the street and Henry hopped out of the way of the vehicle, and Officers Bare and Rosen jumped out of the SUV. She stated that she thought a street fight was about to unfold because she did not know they were officers and did not see any badges. She did not hear them identify themselves in any way. She stated that she did not know if Henry may have flashed a gun, but he did not pull one out before the officers began firing on Henry. She stated Henry made it to the sidewalk, and she believes he may have been trying to make it home, but he fell and his body went stiff. She stated they “let off a whole bunch of rounds.” She stated that when they began cuffing him, she yelled “why are y’all putting a dead man in cuffs?” She expressed to her best friend that she had just “watched an innocent man die,” and that she had watched him walking up and down the street all day and he did not do anything wrong in the encounter.

Witness #4 stated that Henry walked past him on Duxberry moments prior to the encounter in question. He stated that he saw the entire incident unfold, turning around as he heard the individuals in the white SUV jump out with their guns drawn. He never heard them identify themselves as officers, did not see any badges visible, and did not know they were officers until they began to handcuff Henry and a uniformed officer shows up seconds afterward to perform CPR. He stated that Mr. Green was clearly dead at this point, and that the actions of the officers were reckless, because there were surrounding houses and children present.

Witness #5 stated that she was in her house feeding her children when she heard shots and went to the window. She saw the officers exchanging fire with Henry. She stated one officer was using the car as a shield. She stated that once Henry fell to the ground and his gun had fallen on the ground, they continued shooting him as they walked up on him. She noted the officers’ badges were not displayed until after the shooting, when people began yelling at them and they pulled their badges from under their shirts to identify themselves.

Witness #6 stated that he heard gunshots, and once the gunshots stopped he ran outside to make sure his godchildren were ok. He stated that within a minute police cruisers were pulling up. He noted that he witnessed the officers pull their badges from under their shirts after the shooting.

Witness #7 stated that she did not see the incident from the beginning, but she heard gunshots while she was in her car and turned to look. She stated that she saw two white males shooting at the ground. She stated that she initially thought they may have been “shooting an animal or something.” She later discovered they were officers, but she stated that she saw no indication that they were other than the way they were holding their guns.

Witness #8 stated that she did not see the incident from the beginning, but when she heard gunshots she looked out of her window and saw the officers shooting Henry on the ground. She stated she did not hear any announcements of “police” prior to the gunshots. She stated, “if you ask me it was overkill.” She stated that she believes she heard cop guns shooting first. She believes that Henry fired back at the officers. She stated the ones that shot him didn’t attempt to give him CPR, they just tried to roll him over and cuff him.

Witness #9 stated that she was outside her car getting ready to get in when the she witnessed the encounter. She stated that she saw the white SUV pull up in front of Henry and the two individuals get out and just start shooting. She did not see Henry with a gun. She stated that she never heard anyone yell “freeze” or anything like that, and she wasn’t that far away from the shooting.

Witness #10 stated that he normally would not talk to police, but if he was murdered he would want someone to talk on his behalf. He gave that reasoning for why he gave a statement regarding what he witnessed. He stated that while he was sitting in his vehicle he heard gunshots and glass breaking. He stated that he then made sure his family was safe, and witnessed the shooting unfold. He stated that he saw Officers Bare and Rosen shooting Henry two to four times while he was standing up, and continue to shoot him once he fell to the ground. He believed they shot twenty to twenty-five times total during the incident. He stated that he never heard the “two white males” say anything, never saw any police badges and did not know it was the police until the shooting stopped and one of the males pulled out a police radio.

Witness #11 stated that from what she witnessed, Officers Bare and Rosen just started shooting and did not say anything to Henry. She stated that the officers kept shooting once Henry was on the ground, describing their actions as “overkill”.

On June 6, 2016, the Columbus Division of Police issued a news release stating in part, “On June 6, 2016 at approximately 6:10pm, officers were working plain-clothes directed patrol in the area of Ontario Street and Duxberry Avenue and observed two men standing on the street corner. One man was holding a gun. According to a witness, officers exited their vehicle, with their badges displayed, and ordered the man to drop the gun. The man ignored the commands and opened fire on the officers. The officers returned fire and struck the suspect multiple times.” The release stated that the incident will be investigated by the Critical Incident Response Team.

Along with the aforementioned news release, Columbus Division of Police Spokesman Rich Weiner informed the media that police had “spoken to an independent witness who corroborated the general scenario outlined by police.”3

It is now known that the release of this information runs counter to what is clear from the results of the Columbus Division of Police’s own CIRT investigation.

Not only was there no witness who corroborated the officers’ version of events, there were numerous witnesses who directly countered the officers’ version of events, many of which were interviewed immediately following the shooting.

There is no evidence of any witness who corroborated the officers’ version of events. No witness gave any statement that they heard the officers identify themselves. No witness gave any statement that they witnessed Henry pull a weapon on the officers.

No witness gave any statement that they witnessed Henry fire at the officers first.

White prosecutors declined to bring charges after their grand jury determined in 2017 that there was no wrongdoing by the officers and did not indict them in the shooting.

Hood, as administrator of her son’s estate, sued in federal court, alleging wrongful death and the use of unreasonable force against her son.

The district court initially ruled in favor of the officers and others named in the suit, writing that the officers’ use of deadly force was reasonable and did not amount to excessive force.

A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, however, remanded the case for further deliberations, noting in a majority decision: “The experts from both parties indicated that some of Green's gunshot wounds were sustained while he was in a 'lowered' position, likely when he was down on the ground or in the process of going down … a jury could reasonably conclude that the officers' use of force in this context was unreasonable."

The trial in the case began before Judge Sargus on Nov. 8, with closing arguments presented on Monday, according to court documents. Jury deliberations began late Monday, with the hung jury declared Wednesday afternoon.