Clermont County prosecutor closes case in May officer-involved shooting

MIAMI TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) - Miami Township officers were justified in the May shooting that killed a 47-year-old woman who was pointing a gun at them, the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office announced Monday.

On May 20, Camille Weems, 47, of Milford, allegedly began to fire gunshots into the air in the parking lot at Berry Lane Apartments where she lived, according to Miami Township Police Chief Mike Mills.

Around 5 p.m. multiple residents called 911 saying Weems was shooting the gun and another 911 call claimed she approached a resident.

Three police officers arrived two minutes later.

Weems shot at the officers, causing them to duck behind squad cars, Mills explained previously. Bullet holes from behind the squad cars confirm the officers were in the line of fire and that the bullets went over their heads, Mills said.

The officers told Weems repeatedly to drop the gun, according to Mills.

One officer had a “good vantage point,” he added. While the officers were still telling the woman to drop her gun, one officer raised his gun, and Weems fired another round, he said.

Weems was shot six times, Chief Mills said. The prosecutor’s office said Monday the officers’ actions were reasonable and absolutely necessary to protect their lives and the public.

The 47-year-old fell to the ground with the gun beside her.

The officers continued to tell her to stay away from the gun, according to Mills. Officers called EMS and began measures to stop the bleeding. EMS arrived, called UC Air Care, and took the woman to the Air Care location, where Air Care pronounced her dead, Mills explained.

“Our intent when we shoot is to stop the threat. It’s not to kill anyone,” Mills said. “Some of the best marksmen in the world that compete in the Olympics, if you put them under this kind of pressure, they wouldn’t be able to shoot the gun out of her hand.”

Mills said mental health was likely an issue but that officers do not believe there was a prior dispute that led up to the shooting. He said she appeared to have been firing “indiscriminately” in the parking lot. He also noted she had been the subject of previous police runs and that at least one of the officers who responded Friday night knew her by name.

Mills said a mental health worker used by the department was on scene “from the word ‘go’” but that the officers couldn’t bring her in while the woman was firing rounds.

“We have officers that are highly trained in mental health, but when someone shoots at us, we don’t have time. We’ve run out of options at that point,” he said.”

On Saturday, the day after the shooting, the 911 calls and bodycam footage were released.

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