By Brett Milam
Editor
The Union Township police officer who killed a man armed with a knife in May has been cleared in the case.
On May 14, we know Robert Tincher, 49, came to Big Mike’s Gas N Go in Batavia. At about 8:32 p.m., a 9-1-1 caller described Tincher as a white man in his 40s, who yelled at an employee inside, and then left to yell at cars going by “a bunch of racist stuff,” and punching a sign.
That was the third time Tincher had apparently come into the store. Prior, he had come in at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., according to the 9-1-1 caller. On all three visits, Tincher bought a 24-ounce beer.
Tincher then went further down the road near Ellis & Watts Global Industries located near Glen Willow Lake Lane. At that point, all the 9-1-1 caller knew was that the man had a backpack and “he seems intoxicated,” he told dispatch.
He was near the lake by the business. Two other men and a juvenile were also at the lake fishing.
Within 10 minutes of the original call to police, an officer on police radio traffic relays, “Shots fired, shots fired, call EMS!”
“Male down, start[ing] EMS,” the voice comes in again.
Police said Tincher had a knife when police encountered him, and he ignored repeated commands by officers to put the knife down.
A detailed account of the incident
The Sun acquired hundreds of pages of documents and photos from the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office that sheds new light on the incident in question.
We know the police officer was a 37-year-old female on the Union Township Police Department. Her name has been redacted throughout the documents. She didn’t suffer any injuries from the incident.
In total, firearm casings were recovered from the scene, as well as a knife, and two spent Taser cartridges.
Tincher, a 135-pound man at about five feet, six inches, is reported as being homeless at the time of the incident.
In his back pack, Tincher had his LG cell phone, an envelope with wallet, ID, two credit cards, his Social Security card, and $12.94.
When the original officer came upon Tincher, she said in her written statement that he was kneeling on one knee with a beer can in his left hand and his right hand in his book bag.
According to her, Tincher cussed at her and refused to comply when she told him to take his hand out of the bag. Tincher told her he was getting his ID, and was just walking.
At that point, with her Taser ready, she called in the “step it up” to other officers. The officer said she was trying to circle around to see what was in Tincher’s other hand, estimating they were about 10 feet apart.
That’s when Tincher pulled a three-inch folding knife and ran at her.
She hit him in the chest and left shin with the Taser to “no effect.” With him still running toward her, she retreated backwards, “fearing for her life.” So she threw the Taser away from her, and used her gun to shoot at Tincher six times, the first three shots in rapid succession, and the next three not as fast.
That’s when the “shots fired” call came in.
Fellow officer William Hoess reported the same sequence: The female officer made contact, advised other officers to “step it up” as Tincher was reportedly acting disorderly and within seconds reported “shots fired.”
When he arrived on the scene, Hoess handcuffed Tincher.
Rodney Combs, the on-duty sergeant, arrived on the scene and saw Tincher lying on his back with handcuffs on his wrist, with “obvious gunshot wounds.”
Combs said he saw a “blue handled knife” next to Tincher’s hand, and that he was struggling to breathe, so he began performing CPR. Tincher had blood coming out of his mouth, so on the advice of Hoess, Combs moved Tincher to his side to open up his airway.
In total, Hoess said there was about 20 feet of distance between where the backpack and Taser were, and where Tincher’s body was.
Two men and a juvenile were fishing at the lake and apparently witnessed the scene, according to police. Tincher had yelled at the juvenile, so the two men and juvenile were about to leave the scene when the officer arrived.
“She had no other choice than to shoot. He was gonna hurt her,” one witness said.
Less than three minutes
At 8:40 p.m., the officer told other officers she would be with Tincher at the lake, and officially arrived on the scene at 8:41 p.m.
Then the “step it up,” call to officers came in at 8:42 p.m. Then 27 seconds later, the “shots fired” call came in. About four minutes later is when Hoess arrives on the scene.
At 9:22 p.m., Tincher was officially pronounced dead at Anderson Mercy Hospital.
Tincher was shot in the face, the center back, upper right thigh, and left forearm.
As far as Tincher’s daughter knew, he was living in a car and trying to better his life and was working, she told police. Even though she had a protection order against him, she was still trying to find him to make amends. She hadn’t seen him for nearly three years.
She was also trying to find him because “mentally, he has never been there,” she told police.
Cleared in the shooting
According to Ken Mullis, detective with the department, the officer, “had reasonable grounds to believe that she was in imminent or immediate danger of serious physical injury or death. This is corroborated by independent witnesses who observed Robert Tincher aggressively charging with a deadly weapon (knife) at officer as she attempted to retreat and subsequently defend herself.”
He added, “The force utilized by officer [name redacted by the Prosecutor’s Office] was reasonable and matched the deadly force being utilized against her.”