Pureval: Body cam shows Cincinnati officer who fatally shot man followed procedures

Erin Couch, Cincinnati Enquirer
·2 min read
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Interim Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge gives an update on an officer-involved shooting that took place Saturday evening in Madisonville. Also pictured is Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval.
Interim Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge gives an update on an officer-involved shooting that took place Saturday evening in Madisonville. Also pictured is Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval.
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The man who was shot and killed by a Cincinnati police officer late Saturday afternoon in Madisonville had pointed a loaded gun at the officer before he was shot, according to body camera footage and police accounts released at a Sunday evening press conference.

Interim Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said officer Genesis Steele responded to a UDF on Red Bank Road near Madison Road just before 5 p.m.

That was after 911 callers reported a man driving erratically in a silver Toyota Avalon  and nodding off at the wheel. It was later confirmed that the Avalon had been stolen out of Springfield Township.

The man, whom police identified as Leonard Brewington, 34, was in the parking lot next to the Avalon when Steele parked in her cruiser near him.

Cincinnati police shooting: What body camera video shows

She walked behind her car and behind the suspect's car. Brewington was standing next to the passenger door when he reached into the vehicle and got a handgun and pointed it at Steele, body camera footage shows.

Body camera footage shows a man, whom police identified as Leonard Brewington, 34, pointing a gun at Cincinnati Police Officer Genesis Steele as she approached his car in a Madisonville UDF parking lot late Saturday afternoon.
Body camera footage shows a man, whom police identified as Leonard Brewington, 34, pointing a gun at Cincinnati Police Officer Genesis Steele as she approached his car in a Madisonville UDF parking lot late Saturday afternoon.

Steele then told him to get down on the ground. When he didn't, she fired five shots, striking Brewington in the torso and groin area. Steele then reported shots were fired and called for the Cincinnati Fire Department to respond.

At that point, Brewington was on the ground injured with the gun close to him. Steele told him five times to throw the gun away from his body. She then approached Brewington and kicked the gun away from him.

Mayor Aftab Pureval said he felt that Steele responded appropriately to the threat, saying, "It's very clear from the body cam footage that the officer acted exactly how she was trained to act, and had she not acted that way she likely would have lost her life."

Steele, who has been with the department since 2017, has been placed on administrative leave for 5 days, per departmental regulations.

She will also have to train on the target range to practice with a temporary weapon and meet with the police psychologist.

Theetge said Brewington had a lengthy driving record, including misdemeanors, but no felonies on his record.

The Citizens Complaint Authority will be conducting an investigation into the incident.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati mayor, police defend officer who fatally shot man at UDF