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WATCH: Mom says she apologized for near-shooting

Posted at 1:08 AM, Sep 17, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-17 01:08:44-04

CINCINNATI -- Keno Phillips' mother said she was so shocked, she had to call police to apologize.

Phillips is accused of trying to shoot a Lockland police officer during a traffic stop. According to court records, the 40-year-old Phillips pointed a pistol at Officer Matt Kurtz's abdomen and pulled the trigger.

But there wasn't a bullet in the chamber.

Kurtz and Officer Travis Moyers disarmed Phillips and arrested him. He's charged with, among other things, three counts of felonious assault, one count of carrying a concealed weapon, one count of resisting arrest, and one count each of possession and trafficking in drugs.

"He put it to his stomach? I'm gone. I'm like, why didn't he just surrender?" his mother, Vikki Phillips, wondered.

She admits her son has been in and out of the Hamilton County Justice Center for most of his adult life. But Vikki Phillips said she's most ashamed now.

"I raised my kids that the police protect and serve," she said. "I told them that all the time -- they're not 'the boys,' they're the police."

In court Wednesday morning, her son made it clear he sees it differently, claiming he's been beaten by police in the past.

Watch the video above to see Keno Phillips' outburst in a Hamilton County courtroom and hear from his mother about why it's important for the community and police to work together.