Jordan Hill (2021)
Overview
On April 25, 2021 Troy Ohio Police Department Patrolmen Eric Kilbourne and Mike Steffano arrested Hill for a domestic incident at a motel. Hill was in violation of a protection order by being around a woman at the motel.[1]
Kilbourne had a body-worn microphone.[1]
Hill became belligerent towards Kilbourne, and the name calling goes both ways. As Hill is removed from the vehicle at the police station, Hill springs out of the cruiser and attempts to pass by Kilbourne. A struggle ensues and Hill is taken to the ground at which point some equipment in the area may have fallen and struck Hill on the ear. The struggle is captured by three cameras at the station. After control of Hill is regained and Patrolman Jason Lay is watching him, Kilbourne gets up and calls for a medic. Kilbourne returns, grabs Hill's neck, and pushes his head down on the concrete for approximately 2 minutes, during which time he states that Hill doesn't have any rights because he is in custody and points out that "now you know how your old lady felt, right, when you were beating on her".[1]
Patrolman Joshua Beaty arrived after Hill was already under control on the ground. Beaty recalled that Hill had a cut to the back of his ear and the top of his head, and thought the injuries were from the falling equipment.[1]
Lay followed Hill to the hospital where he took pictures of Hill's injuries. Lay transported Hill to the jail after he was treated and released from the hospital.
Hill was charged with domestic violence and violating a protection order, both misdemeanors.[2]
On April 29, 2021, Chief McKinney started an internal investigation, including a review of paperwork and videos.[1]
On April 30, 2021, McKinney placed Kilbourne on paid administrative leave during the investigation.[1]
On May 2, 2021, Captain Kunkleman interviewed Beaty and Lay about the incident. Beaty agreed that Kilbourne's actions of holding Hill down were not necessary and appropriate but also didn't see a reason to intervene. Lay also stated that the actions were not appropriate, but also not of a level where intervention was necessary.[1]
On May 4, 2021, Kunkleman interviewed Kilbourne, who stated that he was attempting to control Hill, and that any injuries or complications were due to equipment being stored in the area.[1]
On May 4, 2021, Kunkleman reached out to Hill by phone and scheduled an interview for May 6th; Hill did not show up for the appointment and didn't respond to to additional attempts to schedule the interview.[1]
On May 19, 2021, Kunkleman delivered an internal investigation report to McKinney, calling Kelbourne's actions, "ridiculously unnecessary and unjustified", and often "punitive". He also described Lay's interview statements as "not... forthright or reliable". [1]
On May 27, 2021, McKinney met with Kilbourne and his union representative and advised him that he was considering suspending Kilbourne after receipt of Kunkleman's internal investigation report. Kilbourne refused the opportunity to review the report and videos and offered no explanation for his actions. McKinney placed Kilbourne on unpaid suspension, effective May 28, 2021, for violating four city policies and nine police department policies.[1]
On May 28, 2021, City Director Titterington received a Note of Suspension for Kilbourne from McKinney and recommended firing Kilbourne.[1]
On June 1, 2021, a pre-discipline hearing was held to give Kilbourne an opportunity to response to the charges filed in the Notice of Suspension. A report of the hearing was prepared.[1]
On June 1, 2021, Kilbourne was fired for a series of alleged city and police department policy violations including use of excessive force, conduct unbecoming, malfeasance in office and not submitting truthful and complete reports.[3] A pattern of similar misconduct was noted.[1]
On June 29, 2021, Beaty and Lay were given written reprimands after an internal investigation found they failed to intervene and failed to properly report the use of force.[4]
On September, 2021, Kilbourne was indicted by a Miami County (Ohio) grand jury on misdemeanor charges of assault and interfering with civil rights.[3]
On October 27, 2021, Kilbourne made a provisional guilty plea to a charge of disorderly conduct, amended from interfering with civil rights. The assault charge was dismissed. Kilbourne will enter a diversion program, which includes an anger management program and counseling. Upon completion of the program, the disorderly conduct charge would be dismissed.[5]
Video
Three video cameras recorded the incident at the police station, and audio was recorded from a microphone worn by Kilbourne.
Officers Involved
Official Reports
- City of Troy Incident File, 2021-06-01
Additional Sources
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 City Incident File, City of Troy, 2021-06-01
- ↑ Nancy Bowman, Special prosecutor to review criminal investigation of fired Troy police officer, Dayton Daily News, 2021-07-25
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nancy Bowman, Ex-Troy police officer indicted on assault, civil rights charges, Daytona Daily News, 2021-09-07
- ↑ Nancy Bowman, Two Troy officers reprimanded, accused of failing to intervene, report excessive use of force, Dayton Daily News, 2021-06-29
- ↑ Nancy Bowman, Former Troy officer takes deal, enters provisional guilty plea to disorderly conduct, Dayton Daily News, 2021-10-27
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