Jury hears opening statements, first witnesses in reckless homicide trial of former HCSO deputy

The reckless homicide trial of former Highland County deputy sheriff Jonathan Dustin Malone is underway, with jurors hearing opening statements and testimony from the state’s first three witnesses Monday, Aug. 7.

The jury and three alternates were seated Monday at approximately 11:30 a.m. and heard initial instructions before breaking for lunch. Opening statements began just before 1 p.m.

As previously reported, Malone pleaded not guilty to a bill of information charging him with the third-degree felony charge of reckless homicide March 23. The bill of information, filed by special prosecutor Anthony Pierson, Assistant Ohio Attorney General, alleges that on or about July 17, 2022 and in Highland County, Malone “did recklessly cause the death of Richard Poulin, in violation of ORC 2903.041.” (Pierson later withdrew as special prosecutor after accepting another job with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.)

As previously reported by The Highland County Press, it was alleged that Poulin, 58, was fatally shot by a Highland County deputy sheriff on July 17, 2022.

The alleged incident began as a traffic violation stop. A subsequent pursuit ended near 5760 U.S. 62, Hillsboro, at which point the shooting allegedly occurred.

In his opening statement to the jury, special prosecutor Chris Kinsler, Assistant Section Chief of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Special Prosecutions Section, outlined the facts of the case as alleged by the state.

According to Kinsler, Malone attempted to make a traffic stop after seeing a traffic violation committed by Poulin, who was driving a pickup truck. Poulin failed to comply and led Malone, as well as other sheriff’s deputies and Hillsboro Police officers, on a chase throughout the city of Hillsboro on U.S. Route 62 (High Street). His truck eventually stopped just past Ervin Road on U.S. 62.

Poulin failed to comply with repeated orders by Malone to exit his vehicle and to put his hands up, even turning up his radio, Kinsler said. Malone struck the passenger side window of the truck with his baton, while another deputy, Steve Alexander, attempted to break the driver’s side window using the base of his firearm. In doing so, the magazine of Alexander’s weapon fell out under the truck, and Alexander went to retrieve it.

At that point, Malone came around the front of the vehicle, while another deputy, Sarah McKenzie, had her gun pointed at the truck. According to Kinsler, Malone used his right hand (his dominant hand) to wield his ASP baton on the driver’s side window of Poulin’s truck. With the first strike, the glass was penetrated but not completely broken; with the second, deputies heard what they described as a “pop” or a “loud bang.”

“The defendant had his gun in his left hand,” Kinsler said. “He says something at that point to the effect of ‘I didn’t shoot’ or ‘I didn’t pull the trigger,’ basically vocalizing that he didn’t realize he fired his gun at that time.”

According to Kinsler, “the bullet entered” Poulin’s arm and “exited on top of his shoulder, entered his neck and ultimately is located in his mandible, or his jaw.

“The bullet traveled through his carotid artery and severed the carotid artery,” Kinsler said. “As a result, Mr. Poulin basically suffers a massive loss of blood, and he dies.”

Kinsler said that officers attempted to render first aid, with Malone calling for a squad as well as a medical helicopter, but Poulin was pronounced dead.

“You’re here today because the state charges that the defendant’s conduct was reckless,” Kinsler said. “It’s reckless because he’s in a circumstance where he has his gun in his non-dominant hand. He doesn’t holster the weapon, he doesn’t remove his finger from the trigger guard, he doesn’t point the gun in a safe area. All while he is doing that, he is engaged in the act of smashing the window not once, but twice, on the driver’s side.”

Kinsler added that Poulin was “conducting himself as a criminal” during the night of his death, but Malone’s response to “the situation was reckless” and led to the victim’s death.

“Richard Poulin didn’t need to die,” Kinsler said. “Richard Poulin was not armed. None of the officers perceived a threat sufficient that they felt the need to use deadly force in self defense. The defendant discharged his gun because he was heedless to the risks involved — not just the risks involved in pointing the gun at somebody, but the risks involved at pointing a gun at someone while you’re doing something as vigorous as smashing a window.

“That is why Richard Poulin is dead.”

Defense attorney Joshua Engel presented a PowerPoint slideshow along with his opening statement. Although he repeatedly described Poulin’s death as “a tragedy,” Engel emphasized that Malone did not act recklessly, did not intend to shoot Poulin and that Malone did not create the “dangerous” circumstances that night.

“What you’re going to be asked to listen to is whether the sergeant followed his training and his procedures,” Engel told the jury. “When you listen to the evidence of this case, I want you to listen to whether he knew he was causing a risk or whether he was doing what he was trained and taught to do.”

Portraying Malone as an officer with over two decades of experience, Engel argued that Malone is “trained,” “permitted” and “expected” to “point his gun at people who have created a risk of public safety.” He advised the jury to consider “whether [Malone] reasonably believed he was following procedures” in his response to Poulin’s conduct.

Engel said that Poulin “posed a threat to the community,” with Malone initiating the traffic stop after watching Poulin run a stop sign. Throughout the chase, Engel said that Poulin made multiple traffic violations, including veering into the other lane of traffic, driving at a high rate of speed and driving through red lights or stop signs, as well as ignoring the multiple cruisers chasing him.

Engel brought out that the windows of Poulin’s truck were tinted, making it difficult for officers to identify how many people were in the vehicle. Poulin also drove through or evaded stop sticks set up in two different locations on the route. Poulin’s truck eventually stopped with his tires damaged by the stop sticks.

When Poulin’s vehicle came to a stop, Engel said Malone repeatedly ordered Poulin to exit the truck, and with Poulin ignoring commands, Malone “believed he had to take actions to physically remove [Poulin] from the” truck.

According to Engel, after Malone broke the passenger window of Poulin’s vehicle, Malone saw Poulin “reach for something.” He then moved to break the driver’s side window, which is when the shooting occurred.

“A terrible tragedy,” Engel said. “Not what anyone wanted to happen in the situation.”

Engel said Malone was “immediately” cooperative and turned his weapon over to Deputy Sarah McKinzie “and cooperated at every step of the investigation,” with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation called to handle the case.

According to Engel, the jury will hear testimony that indicates “everything Sergeant Malone did that night was consistent with his training and consistent with the policies — in other words, he did everything he’s supposed to do” in the situation he repeatedly described as “fraught with danger.”

“Nobody is going to say that Sergeant Malone’s actions were not within the sheriff’s office use of force policy or inconsistent with national standards on the use of force,” Engel said. “Nobody is going to say that anything he did is inconsistent with his training and appropriate law enforcement tactics, and nobody is going to tell you that his actions were not what a reasonably prudent and well-trained police officer would have done in the exact same circumstances.

“This is the most important thing you’re going to hear in this case.”

Engel also stressed that “context is important,” considering the threat Poulin posed.

“[Poulin] fled from the police while Sergeant Malone had his lights flashing and sirens and gave chase,” Engel said. “This chase was nine miles and 13 minutes that he failed to follow commands while in a locked vehicle with tinted windows rolled up.

“The evidence of this case will show that Sergeant Malone acted consistent with policy and his training to arrest the suspect, prevent his escape and protect the public.”

Over the next two and a half hours, the state presented their first witnesses, the three deputies of the Highland County Sheriff’s Office who were on the scene: Steve Alexander, Sarah McKinzie and Dylan Quenneville.

All three officers were asked to share their experiences from the night of the incident. Alexander was training Quenneville, who was a newly appointed road patrol officer. They were at the sheriff’s office and responded to the 1500 block of North High Street to deploy stop sticks during the chase. McKinzie was “just south” of Malone and Poulin’s location and followed them in the pursuit, she said.  

Alexander said that a Hillsboro police officer also joined the chase until Poulin exited the corporation limits, while a second officer deployed stop sticks in the 1200 block of North High Street. During the chase, he said that Poulin reached speeds up to 70 miles per hour throughout the city limits and committed many lane violations, as well as running a red light at the center of town.

After the truck eventually stopped just past Ervin Road, deputies testified that Poulin attempted to drive away again, with McKinzie estimating that Poulin went “15 to 20 feet forward” on his flattened tires in his attempt to evade them again.

The deputies testified that Malone was the first one to approach Poulin’s truck, with Alexander approaching next. Malone and McKinzie went to the passenger’s side, with Alexander and Quenneville going to the driver’s side. McKinzie said she had her weapon pulled but pointed downward to avoid “muzzling” Malone.

Alexander said the area where the truck was stopped was “sparsely” lit and that the dark area, combined with the truck’s tinted windows and the glare from the multiple cruisers’ lights, made it difficult to see inside Poulin’s truck.

Alexander testified that after Malone broke the glass on the passenger side, he yelled at Alexander to “get the driver,” but the outside driver’s side door handle appeared broken. Alexander said he used the “butt” of his weapon to attempt to break the driver’s side window — acknowledging that it was not something he was trained to do — and hit the window twice, at which point the weapon’s magazine was ejected onto the ground.

Alexander said he went to get the magazine, while Malone came around and hit the driver’s window with his baton. He said it “sliced through” the glass but did not fully break, and as Alexander was looking up from retrieving his magazine, he watched Malone hit the window a second time and heard a “pop,” he said.

Alexander said he could see glass flying in Malone’s direction and initially thought the suspect had shot at Malone. Alexander said he was able to reach in and get the driver’s side door open, at which point he found Poulin injured.

McKinzie said she “blurted out some expletive” when she heard the gunshot and then realized that “it wasn’t coming from the vehicle.”  Quenneville said he “took position” to determine where the gunshot came from.

Alexander testified that Poulin “appeared stiff” and that he found the gunshot wound on Poulin’s neck and told Malone that Poulin had been shot. Malone indicated that he “had no idea” that his weapon had been discharged, Alexander said.

The deputies testified that Malone called for an ambulance and helicopter while Alexander, Quenneville and McKinzie attempted lifesaving measures. Those included including trying to apply pressure to the wound, removing Poulin from the vehicle and checking him for other injuries and inserting a nasopharyngeal airway device that “immediately filled with blood,” Alexander said.

After McKinzie got her trauma kit and assisted the other deputies, she said she took Malone’s weapon to her car and placed it in a paper bag for evidence, which she later handed off to Detective Sergeant Vincent Antinore of the HCSO.

Kinsler asked all three deputies about their firearm training on their dominant hand versus non-dominant hand. Alexander said that he thought they did approximately 25 rounds with their dominant hand and three or four with their non-dominant hand. McKinzie testified that she thought it was around 22 or 23 round with her dominant hand and two with her non-dominant hand. Quenneville said that he had been trained with both hands but was unsure of how many rounds for each hand, but agreed he was not trained to shoot with one hand while holding a baton in his other hand.

Kinsler also asked whether the deputies were trained to use a tool in one hand with a firearm in their other hand, or to use two weapons at the same time. Alexander and McKinzie said no, while Quenneville said he was never told he couldn’t.

During cross examination, Engel asked if officers are trained to “assume the worst case scenario” and to “assume the suspect is armed” in situations such as this incident. Alexander said yes and agreed that Poulin had acted “recklessly” in his refusal to cooperate. McKinzie agreed that officers have to “perceive risk” to pull their weapons and to remove a suspect from a vehicle. Quenneville testified that Poulin did pose a risk and that it was appropriate to point a gun in the situation.

All three deputies agreed that Malone repeatedly ordered Poulin to exit his vehicle, which he ignored, and that Malone’s actions were consistent with training. Under redirect, Alexander and McKinzie testified that Poulin did not have a weapon and did not threaten anyone.

Engel also asked about the officers’ training on the HCSO use of force policy, which they said they are tested on the policy annually. He asked about their training on breaking windows. Alexander said that wasn’t part of his training but he didn’t “disagree with the decision” by Malone to do so. McKinzie said that she has not received “specific training on it but has never been advised against it.”

Under redirect examination, Alexander clarified that he had attempted to break the driver’s window with the base of his weapon, with the barrel pointed “at the sky.” He said it would be “unwise” to have his finger on the trigger or to have the weapon pointed at Poulin, Malone or himself and said he thought it was “common knowledge” not to keep your finger on the trigger of a gun.

Also under redirect, Quenneville agreed that he had undergone training to “reduce accidental gunfire,” including the position of the gun and the position of his hands.

The jury was dismissed for the day at 4:10 p.m., with the second day of the trial scheduled to resume Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m.