US officer praised for showing ‘incredible restraint’ after shooting knife-wielding man shouting ‘Kill me!'
Body cam footage of the incident was released by the county prosecutor
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A US police officer has been lauded for his “incredible restraint”, after arresting a knife-wielding man who was shouting ‘Kill me! Kill me!’
Body cam footage shows the moment Javier Pablo Aleman pulled a knife on Officer Joshua Hilling and begged for the Glendale Police officer to kill him.
After finding Aleman wandering the side of an Interstate in Ohio, Officer Hilling asks to pat down the man before allowing him inside the squad car.
As they approach the rear of the vehicle, Aleman pulls a knife from his coat before being shot in the abdomen by Officer Hilling.
The stand-off continues for several minutes as the police officer continually asks Aleman to lie down and drop the knife, while Aleman walks up and down the road shouting ‘Kill me! Kill me!’
After being detained, Aleman was transported to a local hospital where he underwent surgery. The Hamilton County Prosecutor reported that he is still hospitalised.
The prosecutor also reported that Aleman was already wanted by Maryland Police for a 2016 homicide.
Prosecutor Joseph Deters, who released the footage, said: “Our local police officers deal with dangerous and stressful situations on a daily basis and use their training to make sure that no one is injured or killed.
“In this case, Officer Hilling used incredible restraint and only fired one time at the armed suspect who kept advancing and demanding that the officer kill him.
“This situation could have ended very differently had Officer Hilling not responded with such restraint. Anyone who watches this video has to be incredibly impressed with how Officer Hilling handled the situation.”
Javier Pablo Aleman faces an attempted murder charge. If convicted, he faces 11 years in prison.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments