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Report clears officer in Taser case

Erin Fischesser

Officer Geoff Robinson's use of a Taser in an incident tied to the death of Miami alumnus Kevin Piskura in April was an appropriate use of force, according to an investigation by Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper.

In addition, the use of a Taser on Piskura the night of April 19 was not the main cause of his death, Piper said.

The report, released Oct. 7, was requested by OPD Chief Stephan Schwein in order to gain the benefit of an independent investigation outside the OPD. The investigation was conducted by the Butler County Sheriff's Department and reviewed by Piper's office.

"The Oxford Police did an initial investigation immediately that night," Piper said, "but they requested an independent investigation as well."

The report released by Piper's office required multiple sources in order to make a final decision.

"In conducting our review, we analyzed all of the information presented to us by the Butler County Sheriff's Office, as well as information obtained from the Hamilton County Coroner's Office," the report stated.

According to Piper, the investigation focused on the use of force and whether or not Robinson used excessive amounts of force during the confrontation with Piskura.

The report found that OPD's "Use of Force" policies state that an officer may use non-lethal weapons and other forms of "intermediate force" in situations where other types of verbal or physical force have been ineffective or inappropriate. A verbal warning must precede the use of a Taser, the report states.

According to the report, procedure was followed the night of April 19 and Robinson was without fault in the way that he dealt with the situation.

"It is our opinion that Patrolman Robinsons' use of his Taser was in compliance with OPD's 'Use of Force' policies," the report concluded.

OPD Sgt. Jim Squance said that the department was relieved by the findings.

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"We're glad that Officer Robinson was cleared of any wrongdoing and Oxford Police continue to extend our condolences to the Piskura family," he said.

Squance said that officers currently are not carrying Tasers pending a final investigation by OPD.

"The police department is going to do an internal assessment of the Taser and Taser policies," he said, "We'll decide whether to bring them off the shelf or not."

Squance said that all officers carried Tasers prior to the incident and that the training for Taser use was on the same level as that required for the use of a firearm.

Piskura died at University Hospital April 24 after his involvement in an altercation outside Brick Street Bar.

According to Piper, the use of a Taser was not the main cause of death.

"In my review of the matters I have not seen anything that supports the idea that the Taser alone caused Kevin's death," he said.

According to the prosecutor's report, McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital records showed that Piskura's blood alcohol content was .338. Piper also said that the first two of the three causes of death listed on the Hamilton County Coroner's report were related to alcoholic intoxication.