CLEARCREEK TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A Warren County police officer is “on his feet” and “able to brush his teeth” less than 48 hours after being shot in the face during a domestic violence investigation.
What You Need To Know
- Clearcreek Township Police Officer Eric Ney is on the road to recovery after being shot in the head during a domestic incident
- Mark Evers, 65, shot Ney during the hour-long incident at his horse farm
- Sgt. Nicole Cordero, who fired her weapon and struck Evers, is on paid administrative leave
- The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is reviewing the shooting incident
Officer Eric Ney suffered the gunshot wound during an altercation Tuesday night at a horse farm in the 5900 block of State Route 48. The shots were fired by Mark Evers, 65, the owner of the farm.
Evers died after being shot during the altercation, but the exact cause of death is still being determined, according to Clearcreek Township Police Chief John Terrill.
Officer Eric Ney continues to recover after being shot in the head during a domestic violence call. (Photo courtesy of Clearcreek Township, Ohio)
Terrill and Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell provided those details as part of a media briefing Thursday at Clearcreek Township Government Center. The update included the release of video footage captured by a camera mounted in the police cruiser and a status update on Ney.
The video clip of the incident lasted approximately 10 to 15 seconds, Terrill said. He called it a “very quick and very chaotic situation.”
Ney and Sgt. Nicole Cordero responded to the farm after dispatch received a report that Evers had been involved in a verbal argument with his wife for the treatment of one of the horses on the farm. The report said Evers was ramming her car with an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), Terrill said. “She was scared,” he added.
The veteran officers — two of a handful of officers employed by the small Warren County police department — were on the property for about an hour, Terrill said, trying to “coax” Evers back to the front of the property so they could talk to him. It was the intent of the officers, Terrill said, to charge Evers with domestic violence based on information they had received from Evers’ wife.
Evers finally agreed to come back to the front of the property but demanded the officers stay at least 10 feet away.
Both officers knew Evers owned guns, Terrill said, adding the department had responded to incidents at the property in the past where he’d had guns on him when officers arrived. The chief said Evers’ wife didn’t appear to believe Evers had a gun on him.
After Cordero got Evers to fill out some reports, she asked him to turn off his vehicle, which Terrill described as a “Gator” ATV that has doors.
He didn’t do that, Terrill said, and instead Evers exited his vehicle. It’s unclear what type of firearm Evers had on him.
In the video, Cordero commands Evers to “put the gun away right now.” At that point she reached for her own gun, Terrill said, and Ney walked around the front of the vehicle. Evers then appears to fire at least one shot — Terrill said it was two shots, one of which struck Ney in the head.
Officals said Cordero fired back, striking Evers at least once. Evers suffered at least two “potentially fatal” gunshot wounds, Fornshell said, but it’s unclear if both came from Cordero.
On the video Cordero can be heard screaming out, “Oh my God, Eric” before calling on the radio for medical assistance for the officer down. Just before that, an unidentified man ran into the camera frame and questions what the officers, “What have you done?” related to shooting Evers. Cordero tells the man Evers pulled a gun on them.
Fornshell described one of Evers’ wounds as a “close contact wound” that Cordero couldn’t have caused. The prosecutor’s office is awaiting a ruling from the county coroner to determine if his death was a homicide, suicide or undetermined.
If the corner rules it a homicide, that doesn’t mean Cordero is at fault or did anything wrong, Fornshell stressed. He specified that a homicide declaration would just mean that the cause of Evers’ death stemmed from the actions of someone other than himself.
Many of the details are not yet available, Terrill said. He said that’s because the matter is still under review by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Ney, a 14-year veteran of Clearcreek Police Department, remains in critical but stable condition at Miami Valley Hospital. Terrill called it “phenomenal” to learn Thursday that Ney managed to not only stand on his own feet, but even brush his teeth. He thanked the community for an outpouring of support for Ney, his family and the Clearcreek Police Department.
“He has a long road ahead,” Terrill said of Ney, adding that the officer likely has several surgeries ahead of him. “But he’s on the road to recovery, which is the most important thing.”
The chief said he feels for Cordero, who he described as a decorated officer who’s involved in many community efforts, such as National Night Out and the department’s Safety Town program.
Terrill said they were aware of Evers and had been called to the property before, but he didn’t go into specific incidents.
“It’s tragic somebody has to have lost their life,” Terrill added. “It’s tragic that we had an officer shot.”
Per department policy, Cordero is on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
