A former Cincinnati police officer filed a $30 million federal lawsuit Tuesday claiming authorities made him a “scapegoat” for the death of Roger Owensby Jr.

        Robert “Blaine” Jorg, now an officer in suburban Pierce Township, accused Cincinnati and Hamilton County officials of ruining his career and good name by unfairly blaming him for Mr. Owensby's death.

Jorg

        Mr. Owensby died after Mr. Jorg and several other officers tackled and arrested him in a Roselawn parking lot on Nov. 7, 2000.

        The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, claims city officials wanted Mr. Jorg charged with a crime because of mounting pressure from African-Americans who were unhappy with the conduct of police. Mr. Owensby was black; Mr. 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 states.

        The goal, Mr. Jorg claims, was to “appease the African-American members” of the community.

        The lawsuit also disputes Coroner Carl Parrott's finding that Mr. Owensby died of mechanical asphyxiation, either from a chokehold applied by Mr. Jorg or from the officers piling on top of him.

        “There was no asphyxiation, and I'm going to prove it,” said Mr. Jorg's attorney, Bill Gustavson. “No Cincinnati police officer had anything to do with the death of Roger Owensby.”

        Instead, Mr. Gustavson said, the cause of death was “a cardiac event.” He would not elaborate but said medical experts would support his theory when the case goes to trial.

        “This lawsuit is part of a name-clearing process for Blaine Jorg,” Mr. Gustavson said. “He's never had his story told.”

        City attorneys declined comment on the lawsuit. Mr. Owensby's mother, Brenda, referred comment to her attorney but said the family disputes Mr. Jorg's claims about the cause of death.

        “We know better,” she said.

        Mr. Owensby died shortly after he fled police in the convenience store parking lot.

        Several officers, including Mr. Jorg, sought to arrest Mr. Owensby because they suspected he had interfered with a drug investigation a week earlier.

        Mr. Jorg was charged with misdemeanor assault and involuntary manslaughter. A jury found Mr. Jorg not guilty of assault and was unable to reach a verdict on the manslaughter charge. Prosecutors later dropped the charge, saying they would not win at another trial.

        Mr. Gustavson complained about Dr. Parrott's public comments about the investigation and his conclusion that asphyxiation was the cause of death.

        “This statement in the autopsy was false and known by the Hamilton County coroner to be false at the time it was made,” the lawsuit states.

        Dr. Parrott declined to comment, although he has stood by his finding that Mr. Owensby died from mechanical asphyxiation.

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