By Dan Horn
Enquirer staff writer

A federal judge threw out a lawsuit Friday that accused Cincinnati and Hamilton County officials of unfairly blaming a police officer for the death of Roger Owensby Jr.

Robert "Blaine" Jorg had claimed city and county officials ruined his career and good name when they made him a "scapegoat" for Owensby's death in police custody on Nov. 7, 2000.

U.S. District Judge Herman Weber, who dismissed several of Jorg's claims last year, tossed out the only remaining claim Friday after concluding there was not enough evidence to support it.

Neither Jorg's lawyer nor city attorneys could be reached for comment. But court records show Jorg intends to appeal the judge's decision last year to dismiss his claims of defamation and malicious prosecution.

The remaining claim accused city officials of denying Jorg due process when they investigated Owensby's death.

Jorg left Cincinnati for a police job in Pierce Township, but later resigned that job and left law enforcement.

Owensby died after Jorg and several other officers tackled and arrested him in a Roselawn parking lot. Coroner Carl Parrott found that Owensby died of mechanical asphyxiation, either from a chokehold applied by Jorg or from the officers piling on top of him.

Jorg's lawsuit, which sought $30 million in damages, disputed the coroner's findings and claimed city officials wanted Jorg charged with a crime because of mounting pressure from African-Americans who were unhappy with the conduct of police. Owensby was black; Jorg is white.

"The defendants ... engaged in a course of conduct based on racial motivations, and consequent political considerations, to find a white police officer scapegoat," the lawsuit stated.

Jorg was charged with misdemeanor assault and involuntary manslaughter, but a jury found him not guilty of assault and was unable to reach a verdict on the manslaughter charge. Prosecutors later dropped the charge.

---

E-mail dhorn@enquirer.com