Published: May 06, 2008 04:15 pm      

Officer won’t face charges in dragging

IRONTON — A former Ironton police officer will not face criminal charges in the death of a pedestrian whose body was run over and dragged approximately 10 blocks by his cruiser.

A Lawrence County grand jury considered the case for about four hours on Monday, but ultimately chose to not indict the officer, Richard Fouts, in the death of 45-year-old Guy Cameron Thomas, Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr. said Tuesday.

Grand jurors heard testimony from eight witnesses, including Shane Hanshaw, who investigated the March 8 incident for Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification, and Fouts himself, Collier said.

According to Collier, the panel apparently came to the conclusion that Thomas’ death was the result of a “tragic accident.

“We feel for the victim’s family, and for the entire community,” he said.

Collier said that Thomas’ autopsy contained two findings that he believed were key to the panel’s finding that Fouts should not be held criminally responsible for Thomas’ death.

One, he said, was that the victim had a blood-alcohol content of .33, which is more the four times the level at which a person is presumed legally drunk in Ohio.

Secondly, Collier said, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy could not conclude that Thomas’ death was the result of contact with Fouts’ vehicle.

“Without that, we didn’t have anything” on which to base a criminal prosecution, he said.

Investigators with both the BCI and the Ohio State Highway Patrol determined Thomas was probably lying in the roadway when Fouts’ cruiser made contact with his body on Ninth Street, a short distance from both Fouts’ and Thomas’ homes.

Thomas’ body had no injuries that were consistent with him being hit by car. Also, investigators found no damage to Fouts’ cruiser, and that snow, icicles and road grime on the underside of the vehicle’s front bumper had not been disturbed.

The most puzzling question raised by the incident — how Fouts was able to drive a distance of nearly 10 blocks to the Ironton police station with Thomas’ body under his vehicle without knowing it — might never be answered, Collier said.

In his grand jury testimony, Fouts, 27, said that he didn’t believe his cruiser was driving right, but thought it was due to the street conditions, the prosecutor said.

Also, Fouts might not have seen Thomas lying in the street because the street light wasn’t working at the intersection where the contact occurred, Collier said.

Fouts, who had been with the police department for only two months prior to the incident, reportedly told investigators that he did not know Thomas’ body was underneath his vehicle until he pulled into the police station parking lot.

Fouts was suspended with pay following the incident and subsequently resigned from the police force.

Ironton Police Chief James Carey declined Tuesday to comment on the grand jury’s decision. He did say, though, that he still felt badly for Thomas’ family.

Family members of Thomas, a 1980 graduate of Ironton High School and a U.S. Navy veteran, have been critical of the official version of the events surrounding Thomas’ death and have held two marches in his memory.

Attempts to contact family members for comment on Tuesday were not successful.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.