Deters: Sonny Kim killing an attempt at mass murder, no charges filed in shooter's death

Editor's note: This is the dash-cam video taken from Police Spc. Tom Sandmann’s police cruiser as he approached the scene of Officer Kim’s shooting. Details have been blocked out that show Officer Kim on the street. We believe showing this video is important in understanding the events that took place, including that Trepierre Hummons fired at Police Spc. Sandmann, who returned fire and killed Hummons.​

The chaos that descended upon Madisonville the morning Cincinnati Police Officer Sonny Kim died was clarified some, but not entirely, by the Tuesday release of video footage of the incident.

Yes, it shows the basics: Suspect Trepierre Hummons standing over Kim's sprawled body. Him grabbing Kim's handgun and charging at another officer. His body jerking slightly as he steps off-screen, apparently struck by the first of two bullets fired by Officer Tom Sandmann.

It offers evidence that Sandmann followed police procedure, opening fire on a man who had already shot one officer and seemed capable of shooting more.

Full coverage: The shooting death of Sonny Kim

But because the video is so abbreviated and doesn't include audio, it doesn't help clarify what was going through Hummons' mind that morning. That point remains in dispute.

"His goal was to lure and kill as many police officers as he could," Hamilton County Joe Deters told reporters. "His intention was mass murder."

Hummons' mother, who witnessed the shooting and is seen on the video trying to save Kim's life, vehemently disagrees.

"He was saying, 'Shoot me, shoot me. Kill me,'" Khanita Maston told an Enquirer reporter between sobs Tuesday. "He wasn't aiming at people. He was shooting at them."

In hindsight, the motivation only matters so much. Deters, in releasing the long-awaited video of the encounter, announced that the case was closed. Sandmann won't face charges, he said, and in fact deserves a medal.

"He saved other lives," Deters said. "There could have been a lot more dead police officers."

Deters released two versions of the video to reporters Wednesday. One was raw, unpixelated footage from Sandmann's dash camera. The other was a truncated, pixelated version that Deters played during a press conference. He said that version was more appropriate for his live-streaming audience.

Between that video and other investigatory documents – including interviews with Hummons' mother, as well as other officers who arrived to the scene – this is the conclusion Deters reached about what led up to the shooting:

Hummons and his girlfriend got in a fight the night of June 18. The girlfriend accused Hummons of sexual assault and filed a police report.

Hummons was distraught over the allegations and worried that he'd be labeled a sex offender for the rest of his life. He was drinking alcohol and had taken a "Valium-like substance," and Hummons' mother said he was behaving strangely.

Deters said Hummons called 911, reporting a disturbance to lure officers to the scene. When Kim arrived, Maston assured him her son wasn't armed, but Hummons maneuvered around her while pulling a gun from his waistband. He shot Kim three times. One of the bullets tore through a vulnerable part of Kim's bulletproof vest and lodged in the officer's left side, where it hit a major artery.

"The shot was not survivable," Deters said.

After Hummons emptied his gun, he picked up the fallen officer's weapon.

Kim's dash camera wasn't on when he arrived, so there is no footage until Sandmann pulled up to the scene with his camera recording.

That video shows Kim sprawled on the ground with Hummons standing over him. Hummons then appears to charge toward Sandmann – a cigarette in one hand and Kim's gun in the other, which he appeared to level at the arriving officer.

Hummons' shooting wasn't seen on the video shown to reporters. Deters said Sandmann hit him twice: first in his chest and abdomen area ("mass center"), and then again in the side as Hummons attempted to crawl toward Kim's dropped gun on the asphalt.

The prosecutor said Hummons' goal was to commit "mass murder." He described the event as an evil ambush.

Maston, who watched the news conference on television in her Madisonville home, said she doesn't know how the prosecutor reached that conclusion.

"What they said, that's not what happened," she said, tears streaming down her face. She was so upset watching Deters on television that she called the local TV station airing it and asked to be patched into the press conference so she could say "they had this all wrong."

"Joe Deters wasn't there," Maston said. "He is making assumptions. How does he know what was in Tre's mind? I was there, I saw it. They are making him out to be a vicious murderer and he was not."

Deters, who's long been known for his sometimes-gruff candor, said if Hummons had not been killed, he'd now be facing the death penalty for murder. He praised Kim, a 27-year Cincinnati police veteran who left behind a wife and three sons.

"Sonny was everything Hummons was not," Deters said. "He was a loving father and loving husband. He dedicated his life to this city. He paid the ultimate price to protect us."

Deters dismissed the idea that Hummons was attempting to commit so-called suicide by cop. If that were the case, the prosecutor said, Hummons would have lured an officer but not opened fire.

Deters had declined for months to release the video of the incident, citing the ongoing investigation. On Wednesday, he said he was comfortable releasing it because the investigation was complete.

The case wasn't brought before a grand jury because Deters said Sandmann was justified in shooting Hummons.

"It's open-and-shut," he said. "Why would I want to put that decision on a bunch of civilians?"

Cincinnati Police Interim Chief Elliot Isaac said all of the officers who responded to Hummons' call acted appropriately, including Kim. But he said he hoped his officers would take away some lessons from the tragedy.

"We must be vigilant, we must look after one another," he said.

Amber Hunt, Rebecca Butts and Kevin Grasha contributed to this story.