Friday, December 17, 1999
Accused officer's record mixed
Suit says he used excessive force
BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Robert J. Hill III
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Robert Wittenberg
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The Cincinnati police officer at the center of a $2.25 million lawsuit against the city of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Police Division received a commendation six months ago for his “compassionate treatment of a local senior citizen.”
It was one of eight commendations that Officer Robert J. Hill III, 32, has received in his two years on the force.
Along with this praise, however, were two blemishes to his personnel record:
• He was reprimanded for a July 27, 1997, accident. Officer Hill was responding to a suspect chase when he wrecked his cruiser at a downtown intersection. The investigation found he went through a red light.
• Also in 1997, Officer Hill was accused of improperly handling a suspect's belongings. According to a superior's memo, on Dec. 28, 1997, a suspect said $250 was missing from his belongings.
Still, in a 1998 review, Officer Hill's superiors call him “a good beat officer” who is “one of second relief's top producers.”
The attorney for Robert L. Wittenberg, 68, the Silverton man whomOfficer Hill is accused of battering last month at a United Dairy Farmers store, said Thursday that his client's dispute is not with the officer's record.
The dispute is with Officer Hill's actions when, according to the civil suit filed Wednesday, he needlessly threw Mr. Wittenberg, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, to the floor of a UDF store in Madisonville.
“We never claimed he hasn't done good things,” said Donald Moore Jr., Mr. Wittenberg's attorney.
“But he needs to be held accountable for doing a bad thing. I don't think he should get a free pass because he has done good things,” Mr. Moore said.
Officer Hill could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The incident is being reviewed by the department's Internal Investigations unit. Details of the investigation were made public Thursday.
Officer Hill, according to a transcript of the police dispatch from Nov. 14, had been told to respond to an intoxicated man, armed with a drill and a paintbrush, who was threatening customers inside the UDF and refusing to leave.
Mr. Wittenberg had been working in his yard, Mr. Moore said. He became disoriented and wandered away from his home and turned up inside the UDF store, two miles away.
Mr. Moore said his client had been in the store, with a non-functioning drill and a paintbrush for 28 minutes. He had not threatened or harmed anyone, but was telling employ ees that someone else had been hurt outside.
UDF officials did not return phone calls Thursday.
According to a tape of the 911 call made at 8:07 p.m. that night, a UDF clerk tells the dispatcher Mr. Wittenberg said “he has some people that are hurt or something. He came in here with an empty beer can. ... We can barely understand what he's saying and he won't leave.”
The dispatcher then relayed to police that inside the UDF there was an intoxicated male white with a drill and a paint brush threatening to hurt people.
Police said Officer Hill attempted to take the drill from Mr. Wittenberg and a struggle ensued.
The UDF surveillance tape supplied to Mr. Moore and police does not appear to show a struggle before Mr. Wittenberg is thrown to the floor.
“I think it's important for everyone to take a step back and allow a thorough investigation to be completed to include all the facts,” said Keith Fangman, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Queen City Lodge, ""including what may have occurred outside of camera range and without the benefit of audio on the tape.
“It's not fair to Mr. Wittenberg, Officer Hill or the community to make a final judgment before the investigation is completed.”
It is unknown when the investigation, which began shortly after the Nov. 14 incident, will be completed.
“With respect to the UDF video,” Mr. Moore said, “it speaks for itself and the facts.”
The civil suit, filed on behalf of Mr. Wittenberg and his wife, Mary, makes eight allegations against Officer Hill, including battery, false imprisonment and excessive use of force.
Mr. Wittenberg was hospitalized in intensive care for four days with a fractured pelvis, broken vertebrae and ribs, lacerations to his liver and a collapsed lung as a result of the incident, the suit states.
Police said that Mr. Wittenberg walked into his residence on his own after being escorted home by Officer Hill and another officer. Police said he showed no signs of injuries other than minor scrapes.
Mr. Moore said his client now resides in a nursing home because he is unable to walk.
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