A listing of previous police involved shootings in Butler County

There have been at least six police involved shooting in the last four years in Butler County, including the one Friday morning in Fairfield.

  • The last officer involved shooting in Fairfield was in 2014 when Caleb Surface was shot and killed by then-Fairfield Officer Scott Conklin. A Butler County grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against Conklin after he fatally shot 23-year-old Surface, who he believed had a gun when he found him in a subdivision the night of Jan. 18, 2014.

Surface had actually been holding a cordless phone he had taken from his father’s home.

A wrongful death lawsuit is pending in federal court involving the shooting.

  • In June 2017, Butler County Sheriff's deputy Taylor Henson shot and killed Jacob Faulker in St. Clair Twp.

Faulker, a veteran who suffered from PTSD, was shooting at a passing train and armed when deputies arrived.

As deputies surrounded a house in the 4100 block of Trenton Road, Faulkner, a New Miami High School graduate, walked around the garage and raised his rifle at Henson, who fired several shots. A grand jury declined to indict the officer.“Regrettably, Jacob Faulkner engaged in conduct with a firearm, a pistol that required the immediate response of a Butler County Deputy Sheriff,” Gmoser said when he announced the grand jury results.

  • In April 2017, Hamilton Police Officer Steven McFall shot and killed Michael Wilson-Salzl, 24, during a confrontation at an apartment complex on Forest Park Drive. Wilson-Salzl engaged McFall in a "confrontation" while carrying a butcher knife.

Following an investigation, evidence was presented to a Butler County grand jury that declined to return charges against the officer.

Gmoser said the grand jury considered evidence including witness accounts and the history of the man who was killed. He said Wilson-Salzl had called in a false report of shots fired.

Wilson-Salzl charged at McFall while wearing a black mask and holding a knife, according to Hamilton police. Police say Wilson-Salzl then refused commands and McFall fired three times.

Gmoser said the investigation found Wilson-Salzl was mentally disturbed with a history of suicidal attempts and had lured the officers to the scene with a false 911 call.

  • In August 2016, Hamilton Police Officer Kevin Ruhl shot and killed a 34-year-old man in a robbery attempt at Walgreen's on High Street. A Butler County grand jury reviewed the incident, assisted with surveillance tapes from the store, and declined to indict the officer.
  • In February 2014, an 18-year-old fired an AK-47 at a Hamilton police officer before the wounded officer killed him in a shootout. Officer Chad Stafford was shot in the head by Brandon Keeler, who was firing shots from a civilian-model AK-47 rifle at 11th Street and Sipple Avenue.

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