William Green was sitting in the passenger’s seat of Prince George’s County Police Officer Michael Owen’s police cruiser with his hands cuffed behind his back when Owen shot him six times. Owen was in the driver’s seat.
Prosecutors claimed Owen committed murder when he shot and killed Green, who was under the influence of PCP. They did not believe Owen’s claim that Green attacked him, forcing him to shoot in self-defense.
After a jury acquitted Owen on Wednesday, News4 has new reactions to the surprise verdict.
“We knew that this was going to be a challenging case and it was not a slam dunk,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said, calling Owen’s testimony on what happened “outrageous and certainly implausible.”
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While prosecutors told the jury that Owen’s account of what happened was a lie, they struggled to find a motive for the shooting.
Green had hit several cars. During the investigation, Owen placed Green in the front passenger seat of the patrol car with his hands cuffed behind his back, investigators said. Owen testified Green became increasingly combative and took his service weapon without his knowledge.
Owen testified that he was able to get control of the gun and "fired a quick succession of rounds." Green was shot six times. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Owen’s testimony, combined with a defense expert who said the shooting was reasonable if Owen’s story was true were critical to getting an acquittal, according to lead defense attorney Thomas Mooney.
“In my mind, I say there’s no disputing that there was a struggle within the vehicle and in my mind there’s no disputing that this was a justified shooting – an unfortunate, tragic, justified shooting,” he said.
Prosecutors almost got a conviction in the case. Owen had agreed to plead guilty to voluntarily manslaughter earlier this year and could have been sentenced to up to 10 years. But Green’s family publicly objected to the plea agreement and the judge rejected it.
The state’s attorney withdrew the offer, and the case went to trial nearly four years after the January 2020 shooting.
“When we worked out that agreement, I believe it should have been respected because it would have provided a level of accountability,” Braveboy said.
What jurors did not know is that Owen had previously killed someone in the line of duty, had expressed having PTSD and there were prior use-of-force complaints against him.
“I just hope those jurors go home and they read about all his other victims, all the things that he’s done to the people of P.G. County over the last 10 years, and I hope they regret what they did,” Nikki Owens, a cousin of Green, said.
Mooney told the jury that charging Owen the day after the shooting was a rush to judgment and that no one asked him what happened.
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“Do you think he would have given a statement if asked for one? Absolutely,” Mooney said.
The courtroom erupted after the verdict Wednesday, with Green’s family and friends outraged over the acquittal. Several said it’s part of a pattern of police in Prince George’s County not being held accountable.
Green’s family already settled with the county for $20 million, in the largest settlement in county history.
Owen is still in custody as he faces charges in a federal insurance fraud case.
