WHITEHALL, Ohio — Two Ohio police officers who shot and killed a man in April will not face charges.
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A Franklin County grand jury declined to charge two police officers who fatally shot a man in Whitehall in April, our news partners at WBNS-10 TV reported.
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News Center 7 previously reported that 36-year-old Santiago Elias Alafaro Munoz was shot and killed by two Whitehall Division of Police officers on April 19.
The officers reportedly heard gunfire coming from the area of East Main Street and South Hamilton Road around 2 a.m.
At the same time, officers were alerted of gunshots in the same area by the city’s gunshot detection system.
Police arrived at a parking lot in the area where they saw a parked silver SUV and a dark-colored SUB leaving the area.
The officers approached the silver SUV and found Munos and 35-year-old William Morales Villatoro in the front seats.
There was a language barrier between the officers and the two men in the vehicle, according to police.
While trying to talk to the men, the officers reportedly found a handgun in the SUV.
Officers then told the men in English and in Spanish to put their hands up, according to police.
Villatoro, who was the driver of the SUV, complied, but police said Munoz did not comply.
In the police body camera video obtained by WBNS-10 TV, one of the officers could be heard telling Munoz to put his hands up several times, but Munoz appeared to ignore him.
The officer then opened Munoz’s door. One second later, Munoz was seen reaching toward the center console area.
Police said Munoz lunged back toward the officer, but that could not be clearly seen in the video.
At that point, both officers fired shots at Munoz, with one of the bullets striking him in the head.
They attempted life-saving measures on Munoz before he was turned over to medics and taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital where he later died.
It is unclear how many times he was shot.
Police found four guns inside the SUV, and Villatoro was arrested on one felony count of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.
The grand jury determined that the officers did not commit a crime and unlawful criminal homicide did not occur at the time of the incident.
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