Grand jury clears officer in Columbus teen’s fatal shooting

A Russell County grand jury reviewing evidence in the Nov. 6 fatal shooting of Christian Redwine has found that the police officer involved committed no wrongdoing.

Officer Allan Brown shot the 17-year-old multiple times after Redwine led Columbus police on a late-night chase into Phenix City, where the teen ran off the road with two passengers in a stolen Pontiac G-6. Police said Redwine tried to use the car to run the officer over, prompting the fatal shots.

Brown currently is on desk duty at the police department until it completes its own internal investigation, which can’t be closed until the evidence amassed by Alabama authorities is added to the file, said Columbus Police Chief Ricky Boren.

Russell County District Attorney Ken Davis said Brown waived his rights and volunteered to testify before the 18-member grand jury, which spent two days reviewing the evidence. Prosecutors did not recommend charges, but asked the grand jurors to determine whether the shooting was justified, Davis said.

Among other witnesses testifying were two more Columbus officers experienced in the department’s training and procedures, and an Alabama Bureau of Investigation agent who probed the shooting, Davis said.

Redwine’s shooting was among 300 cases the grand jury reviewed before voting on indictments Friday, Davis said.

The two teens wounded during Redwine’s shooting were Hunter Tillis and Hannah Wuenschel, both 19 at the time. They faced charges after police searching the Pontiac found property taken in car break-ins at Columbus’ Midtown Medical Center on Center Street and the Country Inn & Suites on Fountain Court.

Columbus police said Redwine aroused suspicion when officers saw the Pontiac cruising around closed businesses around 4:30 a.m. near Columbus State University’s main campus on University Avenue.

Checking the tag, they learned the car had been reported stolen by Fred Levins, a friend of Redwine’s grandmother who considered himself to be like a grandfather to the teen. Around 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 6, Levins noticed it was missing along with his car keys.

When police tried to stop the car, Redwine sped away, initiating a chase that continued into downtown Columbus and crossed the 13th Street bridge into Alabama, where Phenix City police joined the pursuit.

Redwine sped west to Opelika Road, turned onto U.S. 280 and then east onto the North Bypass, and headed back toward Columbus before taking the last Phenix City exit onto Riverchase Drive, where he wrecked before Brown arrived.

Brown believed Redwine was trying to run him over when the teen shifted the car into reverse there, police said.

An attorney representing Wuenschel said Redwine was trying only to back out of a hole. The attorney said Redwine was shot seven times, Wuenschel two or three times, and Tillis at least twice.

Tillis and Wuenschel were taken to Midtown Medical Center to be treated for their wounds. They were arrested for theft upon their release from the hospital.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Grand jury clears officer in Columbus teen’s fatal shooting."