CLEARCREEK TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A Clearcreek Twp. police officer who was shot through his face has reportedly been moved out of the intensive care unit and moved to rehabilitation unit.
Officer Eric Ney, a 14-year veteran of the force, was shot July 12 while responding to a domestic disturbance in the 5900 block of North Ohio 48.
“He’s continuing to recover and is improving everyday,” Clearcreek Twp. police Chief John Terrill said Thursday. “He’s able to talk and is communicating.”
Terrill said there are still concerns about a bullet fragment that remains in Ney’s head. He said Ney sent his son to one of his favorite restaurants in the township, B&B Carryout on Ohio 73, to pick up a breakfast order. Terrill said Ney is getting his appetite back, which is another positive sign.
“He’s continuing to trend positive,” Terrill said. “It’s an absolute miracle. He’s a lucky guy.”
On July 12, police arrived at the farm of Mark Evers around 7:16 p.m. on a domestic disturbance call. Evers was using his Gator ATV to ram into his wife’s vehicle multiple times. Terrill said officers had been to the Evers farm in the past for neighborhood disturbances and that officers were aware he could be armed.
Evers, 65, eventually began talking with police, then suddenly fired two shots at Ney. Sgt. Nicole Cordero returned fire, shooting Evers. Evers also shot himself, and died at the scene. State investigators have not yet determined if the fatal shot came from Cordero or was self-inflicted.
Ney was transported by medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.
Terrill said Cordero remains on paid administrative leave pending the completion of the investigation and is doing “OK.”
He also said there was a peer counseling session last Saturday for 20 first responders who had been at the shooting scene.
Terrill said this was the first officer-involved shooting and first shooting of a township police officer in the department’s history. Clearcreek Twp. police was founded in 1975.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is taking the lead on the investigation on the shooting of the officer as well as the shooting of Evers, Terrill said.
