Positive evaluations for Hamilton officer who shot robbery suspect

"An excellent officer and makes good decisions," states the most recent evaluation for the officer who fatally shot a robbery suspect that police said was holding a woman at knife-point.

Officer Kevin Ruhl, 33, a nine-year veteran of the Hamilton Police Department, shot the suspect, Kelley Brandon Forte, early Monday morning inside the Walgreens at 1090 High St. Also at the scene was Officer Danielle Sorber, 23, a one-year veteran of the police department.

The names of the officers were released Tuesday by the police department.

The investigation is ongoing and the case is still expected to be presented to a grand jury this week, according to Sgt. Brian Robinson.

Because of her limited time with the department, Sorber’s personnel file contains little more than procedural hiring paperwork.

She graduated from the University of Cincinnati in December 2014 with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice.

Ruhl was hired by the department in July 2007 and has received positive annual evaluations, according to his personnel file, which was obtained by this news outlet.

“He is proactive, aggressive and conscientious in his work … well-liked by fellow officers,” Ruhl’s 2008 evaluation states.

In 2008, he was counseled by supervisors after hitting a parked car with a cruiser, for not taking a belt off a prisoner before placing him in a holding cell, and for not controlling an intoxicated prisoner who fell down concrete steps.

In 2013, he received a letter of praise for the apprehension of a robbery suspect.

His file also contains notations of residents’ appreciation after he helped a mother find her missing child and controlled an unruly crowd at a former Moose Lodge.

Ruhl’s 2015 evaluation, his most recent, states that he “makes good decisions” and “is a very active officer and enjoys going out and doing his job each shift.”

Both officers were placed on leave after the shooting, which is policy, Police Chief Craig Bucheit said.

Monday’s shooting was the third fatal officer-involved shooting in Hamilton since 2010.

In April 2010, Hamilton police Officer Casey Johnson shot and killed Joshua Berkheimer, who was beating his girlfriend with a claw hammer.

In February 2015, Hamilton police Officer Chad Stafford was shot in the head within seconds of his arrival on Sipple Avenue, where Brandon Keeler was shooting up the neighborhood with a civilian-model AK-47.

Stafford was able to take cover behind a nearby vehicle, returned fire and fatally shot the the 18-year-old.

The fatal shooting will be presented to a Butler County grand jury for review, according to county Prosecutor Michael Gmoser.

It has been a policy since Gmoser took office that all officer-involved shootings be reviewed by a grand jury.