Prince George’s County officer accused of fatally shooting cuffed suspect indicted

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A grand jury has handed down an indictment for a Prince George’s County police officer accused of shooting a handcuffed suspect to death inside a cruiser in Temple Hills in January.

Officer Michael Owen has been indicted for second-degree murder and other charges in connection with the deadly shooting of 43-year-old William Green.

State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy announced the indictment during a news conference in Upper Marlboro on Thursday.

Police say the shooting happened in the evening on Winston Street after officers received reports regarding an erratic driver in the Silver Hill area who allegedly struck multiple vehicles while driving on St. Barnabas Road.

Cpl Michael Owen (Prince George's County Police)

Officers located Green on Winston Street and said they smelled what they believed to be PCP coming from the vehicle.

Police told FOX 5 that they handcuffed Green behind his back and placed him in the front seat of a cruiser while they waited for a drug recognition team to come to the scene.

Chief Stawinski says Green was shot seven times while handcuffed.

At the time, police officials said there was no evidence he was high on PCP and no corroborating evidence there was a struggle in the car before he was shot. 

On Thursday, Braveboy said the investigation confirmed that he did have PCP in his system during the incident.

Officials say officers attended to Green at the scene before he was taken to a local hospital where he later died. Owen was not wearing a body camera because he was not assigned one, police say.