CINCINNATI -- A judge sentenced the man who shot a Cincinnati police officer last March to 43.5 years in prison.
Damion McRae shot Officer Kenneth Grubbs in the abdomen on March 12, 2017 as Grubbs was responding to a report of domestic violence at an apartment building in the 2600 block of Gilbert Avenue in Walnut Hills.
Officer William Keuper responded to the apartment building with Grubbs. Keuper’s body camera captured footage of McRae approaching Grubbs with a concealed 9 mm rifle. He opened fire about 6 feet away, and Grubbs fell to the ground.
Despite being wounded, Grubbs was able to return fire as he fell, according to Hamilton County Prosecutors Office Chief of Staff Triffon P. Callos. Keuper, who was walking behind and to the side of Grubbs, saw his partner get shot and immediately returned gunfire at McRae, Callos said. McRae was hit and fell to the ground.
Keuper's body cam recorded the encounter; the footage is violent and may be disturbing to some viewers:
Mayor John Cranley called the shooting an "assassination attempt."
"This was clearly an ambush," Cranley said. "This guy just started shooting at cops. He was 10 feet or closer, and he just started shooting."
Chief Eliot Isaac said Grubbs fired 17 shots and Keuper fired eight rounds in the exchange. McRae fired one round "successfully" before his gun jammed.
“I really think it was an act of God that saved those two cops," Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said when he released the body cam footage.
McRae was charged with attempted murder and gun charges in connection to Grubbs' shooting.
Court documents show McRae has a long criminal record.
- He was most recently sentenced to probation for trafficking heroin, fentanyl and cocaine a few months ago in 2016.
- He was convicted of trafficking cocaine in 2003 and 2006 and sentenced to prison.
- He was convicted of trafficking marijuana in 2008 and was sentenced to community control. But he violated the conditions and was sent to prison.
