Southern Ohio grand jury clears officers in fatal shooting

GEORGETOWN, Ohio (AP) — A grand jury has cleared two police officers in the fatal shooting of a man in the southern Ohio village of Hamersville.

Brown County Prosecutor Jessica Little said she agrees with the grand jurors’ finding this week that the officers were justified in their use of deadly force in the May 27 slaying of Albert Robert Clayburn.

Officers Jared Riley and Branden Clark had responded to a report of a suspicious person, gave chase after he tried to flee in an SUV, and fired as Riley was being dragged by the vehicle, authorities said.

“Clayburn’s conduct created the circumstances under which these officers had to act,” Little said in a statement Thursday. “The officers’ use of deadly force was reasonable to defend themselves, each other, as well as the residents of Hamersville and any persons driving through the village.”

She said an autopsy found cocaine in Clayburn’s system.

He died in a hospital after the SUV slammed into a village administration building. The two officers had minor injuries.

Hamersville has some 550 residents and is nearly 40 miles southeast of Cincinnati.