PIERCE TWP. — Robert “Blaine” Jorg, one of two Cincinnati police officers juries failed to convict in the November 2000 asphyxiation death of Roger Owensby Jr., was hired by trustees in this Clermont County township Tuesday night.

Jorg

        Trustees and Chief James Smith, until recently an assistant chief in Cincinnati, were not available for comment late Tuesday.

        It was not known when Officer Jorg, 30, who currently works in Cincinnati's impound lot and has been on the force since 1996, would join Pierce Township. He could not be reached for comment.

        Officer Jorg's hiring follows the recent, controversial hiring of Officer Stephen Roach in Evendale. Officer Roach was also cleared of any criminal wrongdoing for the fatal shooting last April of Timothy Thomas, an unarmed man who was fleeing police in Over-the-Rhine. The Thomas shooting led to several days of civil disturbances.

        The Black United Front, one of the groups pushing a boycott of Cincinnati, has demanded Officer Jorg be retried in the Owensby case.

        Last October, a jury found Officer Jorg not guilty of assault and deadlocked on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Mr. Owensby. Three days later, the second officer charged in the Owensby death, Officer Patrick Caton, was found not guilty of assault. In November, Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen announced he would not seek a re-trial of Officer Jorg.

        Shortly after the verdict, the parents of Mr. Owensby said they were not satisfied with the job done by Mr. Allen's office in prosecuting Officer Jorg.

        An internal investigation of Mr. Owensby's death by the Cincinnati Police Department has not yet been released.

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