Kevin Grasha

kgrasha@enquirer.com

Javier Aleman repeatedly begged Glendale police Officer Josh Hilling to kill him, video from Hilling’s body camera shows.

During the three-and-a-half-minute encounter last week on Interstate 75, Aleman – who pulled a hunting knife on Hilling – said “Kill me” more than 40 times.

“Please, I’m begging you,” Aleman can be heard saying at one point. “Do it.”

At a news conference Tuesday, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said Hilling, a 31-year-old officer who has worked for the suburban police department for four years, “deserves a medal.” Deters played the video at the news conference.

“He showed remarkable restraint in the confrontation of an individual who was clearly armed,” Deters said. Hilling will not face charges.

He is expected to return to duty this week, Glendale police Chief Dave Warman said.

Aleman, 46, is recovering from the gunshot wound to his abdomen and remains hospitalized, officials said. He has been charged with attempted murder.

Aleman was a fugitive wanted by Baltimore County, Maryland, police in connection with a homicide this year that Deters said likely involved the same knife.

“There’s a high probability (it) was the murder weapon used against his roommate in Baltimore,” Deters said.

Police: Man shot on I-75 fugitive wanted in fatal stabbing

The March 29 incident began after Hilling stopped on the highway, near Sharon Road, to assist Aleman, who was walking along the southbound lanes carrying a backpack.

Aleman claimed he was traveling from Dayton, Ohio, although Deters said it’s not known if that was true.

Hilling intended to give Aleman a ride, officials said. But before allowing him inside his police car, the video shows, he tells Aleman, “I’m going to pat you down, for officer safety.”

Hilling starts to say that again, when Aleman pulls out the knife and shouts: “Kill me! Kill me! Kill me now!”

Aleman, with the knife in his right hand, then charges toward Hilling, again saying, “Kill me!” Hilling fires one shot, wounding Aleman and knocking him to the pavement. Almost immediately, Aleman stands up and says, “I’m going to kill you.”

During the next one and a half minutes, Hilling repeatedly screams at Aleman to “get down” and “stay down.”

But Aleman refuses to drop the knife and continues to walk toward the officer, saying, “Kill me.”

At one point, Hilling says: “Sir, please, just get down. Sir, please, drop the knife. Let us help you.”

The incident ended when a Sharonville police officer, who arrived to assist, subdued Aleman with a Taser.

Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil said Hilling and the other officers likely didn’t fire additional shots because they continually were able to move away from Aleman.

“Distance is an asset for a police officer,” Neil said at the news conference. His agency investigated the shooting. “What you (saw) here was an officer trying to de-escalate an offender who was bringing deadly force forward… It’s just excellent police work.”

CORRECTION: The incident happened on March 29. An earlier version of this story had an incorrect date.