From The Cincinnati Enquirer The wife of the Cincinnati Police Officer Sonny Kim, who was fatally shot in the line of duty, is pleading with the city not to release a video that shows the aftermath of the shooting.
Local media outlets, including The Enquirer, have asked to review the video recording, which was caught on the dash-cam of the the second officer to arrive at the scene. Ohio law allows the public to view such recordings.
"...for my kids, witnessing their father lying helplessly on the ground will only add to the devastation that they have already felt," Jessica Kim wrote in identical letters to Mayor John Cranley, City Manager Harry Black and Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell. "Sonny was their rock, strong and protective. They should not have to see a broken image of their father like that."
Jessica Kim, who has seen the video, said "the video clip will not add value to anyone, but instead add an even greater amount of pain."
Black called Kim "a hero in every sense of the word," but acknowledged the the city must abide by all public records laws.
"In this regard, I have asked the Law department to carefully review this matter in order to advise on how best to proceed," Black said.
On the morning of June 19, Kim, 48, was ambushed by Trepierre Hummons, of Madisonville, according to Cincinnati police. Police received a call at 9:03 a.m. about a man with a gun at the corner of Whetsel Avenue and Rose Street. At 9:10 a.m., a second call came in to dispatchers. Kim, a nearly 30-year veteran of the police department and longtime District 2 officer, responded.
It would later come out Hummons made the calls.
Hummons shot Kim, an act witnessed by by Hummon's mother, who lived nearby, police said. She used Kim's radio to call for help. Frantic officers, including Tom Sandmann, hurried to the scene.
Sandmann pulled up and fatally shot Hummons. Sandmann's dash-camera video caught the shooting aftermath.
"The Enquirer is seeking the video to shed light on exactly what happened that morning," said Enquirer News Director Mike Kilian. "There remain many unanswered questions."
The Cincinnati Police investigation is on-going. Immediately after the shooting, department officials gave a brief account of what happened. But plenty of questions remain.
It's unclear how many shots were fired, who fired first, how Kim died and where a probation officer, who has never been named, plays into what happened.
Hummons' father, Ronald Hummons, has publicly said his son didn't lure anyone to the scene of the shooting.
Once the police investigation is completed it will be forwarded to the The Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office, which under state law must review all officer-involved shootings.