By Whitney Vickers
FAIRBORN — Fairborn Police Officer William Titley will not face charges following the death of alleged robbery suspect Rouven Loch, according to a release from Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Haller’s office.
A Greene County Grand Jury was convened Wednesday and after testimony, declined to recommend charges against Titley.
The officer-involved shooting, which occurred Monday, Feb. 22, took place after Loch, 22, of Fairborn, was established as a prime suspect in multiple robberies between Feb. 18-19 in the Fairborn, Dayton and Kettering areas. Dayton Police called on the Fairborn Police Department for assistance Feb. 22 after Loch was located in the 1300 block of Eastview Drive in Fairborn. A four-hour standoff involving the Regional Emergency Response Team (RERT) followed, during which police attempted a peaceful negotiation.
Loch allegedly admitted during the negotiation that he had committed the robberies, possessed several weapons in the residence, would kill officers and that he was not returning to prison, according to the release. Police eventually deployed tear gas into the residence, and Loch exited with a black pellet gun pointed toward officers, the release said.
A single shot to the torso was fired by Titley, who served as a precision marksman with RERT. Loch then received medical attention and was transported to Miami Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the release.
“BCI determined that the recovered weapon Rouven Loch had in his hand when he exited the residence was a Smith and Wesson M&P 45 caliber pellet gun, and was virtually indistinguishable from an actual Smith and Wesson M&P 45 caliber handgun,” the release said. “The BCI investigation of this case was thorough and professional.”
The release said the Fairborn Police Department requested that the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) respond to the situation. BCI collected evidence, forensically observed and documented the scene and interviewed approximately 70 witnesses over the course of several weeks.
Upon completing Loch’s autopsy, the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office found that he had possessed a blood alcohol level of 0.29 as well as “an acute intoxication level” of Alprazolam, which is commonly known as Xanax, according to the release.
Titley has served the Fairborn Police Department for 18 years and has been a member of RERT since 2004, according to the department. He served as the school resource officer at Fairborn City Schools for 12 years, where he was responsible for teaching DARE, but he transitioned from that role in January to a patrol officer position.
He received the Fairborn Employee of the Year award in 2001, Knights of Columbus Blue Coat award and Fairborn City Schools Excellence award in 2014, according to the Fairborn Police Department.
Titley previously said he had underwent every nationally accredited active shooter training in the United States. He has taught Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training, Law Enforcement Active Shooter Emergency Response, Raider Solo Engagement Training, Single Officer Response to Active Threat and Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate training.
