HAMILTON, Ohio (WXIX) - Two special prosecutors are handling the criminal case against a Hamilton police officer charged with repeatedly assaulting a handcuffed man.
The incident was caught on video footage from a camera in the police department's booking room.
Officer Stephen Heffernan's pretrial hearing on four misdemeanor counts of assault is now set for May 4.
The jury trial is scheduled for May 18.
He has pleaded not guilty and remains on paid administrative leave, according to his attorney, Stew Mathews.
The veteran attorney declined to discuss the case on Thursday beyond reiterating his comments about it to us earlier this month: "I am aware that there is a video without audio that has been released that only shows a minor part of the incident, or a short part of the incident, and that police work is not something that is often pretty."
The special prosecutors, Joseph Merschbach and Ethan Blandino, appeared for the state in court for the first time earlier this week.
Merschbach is the chief assistant prosecutor for the municipal division of the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office.
Blandino is an assistant prosecutor in the municipal division who was notified that he passed the Ohio bar exam in October 2024, according to his LinkedIn page.
They were brought in after an assistant prosecutor in the city of Hamilton's municipal court recused himself due to the obvious conflict, and the Ohio Attorney General's Office declined to serve as special prosecutor, state records show.
"Prosecutors' offices in the region have long assisted one another when needed. When a case presents a conflict of interest, or the appearance of one, appointing a special prosecutor helps ensure the process remains fair, impartial, and credible," said Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich.
A visiting judge was brought in to oversee the trial, but he's no stranger to Butler County and Hamilton police.
Noah Powers was elected to the Butler County Common Pleas Court bench in 2006. He retired on Jan. 2, 2025, due to age limitations.
Officer Heffernan, 43, has been with the Hamilton Police Department since 2015, according to his personnel file.
He was suspended nearly a month without pay after an internal investigation found he used "unnecessary or unwarranted violence" with Michael Yordy, 62, on Sept. 24, 2025, police records show.
The officer took the man into custody after spotting him walking outside earlier that day and arrested him on an outstanding bench warrant for failing to pay municipal court fines.
The video shows Officer Heffernan and Yordy in what investigators described as a "visibly agitated exchange," police records show.
The officer ordered Yordy to sit multiple times, but he did not comply, the police report states.
Officer Heffernan is accused of slamming the handcuffed man into a cinder block wall twice and then slamming him to the ground.
That's when Yordy's head hit the support for a concrete desk, and he was knocked out cold, according to the video.
He was taken by ambulance to Bethesda North Hospital.
A scan of his brain revealed no traumatic injury, but it took 14 staples to close the large gash in his head, according to the police report.
Hamilton police initially charged Yordy with assaulting Officer Heffernan, but that case was dismissed, court records show.
Just under two weeks later, Yordy agreed to receive $10,000 to release all claims against the city and police, according to a contract he signed provided to FOX19 NOW via public record request.
Officer Heffernan signed a disciplinary agreement two weeks after the incident, on Oct. 8, accepting responsibility for violating prisoner handling rules, police records show.
He also agreed to serve a 20-day suspension and complete remedial training within 60 days.
In addition, he was also put on extra-duty suspension for six months and had to participate in behavioral management counseling through the Employee Assistance Program.
He was back to work when a Butler County grand jury indicted him on Feb. 27.
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser personally wrote the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (Ohio) late last year and asked them to review the use of force, state records show.
BCI did and turned its investigation over to the prosecutor's office which then took it to the grand jury last month.
"The grand jury determined it was assault," Gmoser told FOX19 NOW in an interview the day Officer Heffernan was indicted. "I'm saying it was excessive force."
Gmoser declined all further comment.
The city had a lawyer conduct an independent investigation into the case last year, "and that lawyer concluded there was no criminal action," Officer Heffernan's lawyer told us during an interview earlier this month.
Citing the ongoing case, Hamilton city and police leaders have not responded to most of our questions about it.
Hamilton Police Chief Trent Chenoweth did agree to issue a written statement to FOX19 NOW explaining how his agency handled it:
"The police department maintains a well-established practice of consulting the city law department and the city prosecutor whenever potential misdemeanor issues arise. In the September 2025 incident involving Officer Heffernan, the department followed this practice and the law department appointed an experienced Special Prosecutor to ensure complete impartiality.
"Subsequent to the prosecutorial review and determination, the department concluded with an administrative review in October 2025, issuing disciplinary measures for a specific policy violation. Our department maintains a rigorous process for internal accountability. As well, we respect the grand jury's decision and the judicial process."
We asked the city for records related to the outside legal review of the officer's use of force, including a copy of it, along with the contract between the city and the lawyer/law firm that conducted the review and the cost.
On Thursday, the city's assistant law director sent us a copy of an addendum to the city's contract with Frost Brown Todd (now called Frost Brown Todd Gibbons), modifying it for "extra services."
The document was signed June 27, 2025, by City Manager Craig Bucheit, Hamilton's former police chief, and approved by the city's law director, Letitia Block.
The agreement is effective June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026, and says:
- "For Prosecution matters, the Firm will issue separately monthly statements to be billed at a blended hourly rate of $280.00
- "For all other services, the Firm will issue separate monthly statements for services to be billed at a blended hourly rate of $320.00 an hour."
As for the other records, we received an email from the city's assistant law director explaining why they were not being released:
"Your request is being denied in part on grounds that any research, conclusions, or advice created by counsel are excluded from disclosure as attorney-client communications, trial preparation records, and confidential law enforcement investigatory records."
FOX19 NOW has confirmed the attorney, or "special prosecutor," who reviewed it was Samantha Bagley, of Frost Brown Todd Gibbons.
We reached out to her for comment and will update this story when we hear back.
Her biography page on the law firm's website says:
"Samantha's practice focuses on all aspects of government services. She represents townships, cities, school districts, and other public entities in the areas of land use, zoning, taxpayer lawsuits, labor relations, and general litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Samantha served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Hamilton County, Ohio, for over seven years. There, she litigated hundreds of cases and secured convictions in both bench and jury trials."
Officer Heffernan's performance reviews are positive and mostly "Above Satisfactory," according to his personnel file.
Supervisors have described him as a "very proactive" officer who "makes good quality arrests and is continuously looking for activity in his beat," his personnel file shows.
He also "routinely reports for duty 20-30 minutes prior to the start of his shift" and volunteers to take calls that are pending in other areas, as well as routinely backs officers up."
There are several letters of commendation in his personnel file, including one when he ran after and chased a suspect who threw a handgun before apprehension. The gun was recovered.
"The area of the arrest has been a constant problem area and the location of multiple shootings and shots-fired complaints. I commend you and thank you for a job well done," one of his supervisors wrote. "Only through efforts like yours will we be able to suppress gun violence in the community."
A paramedic with Kettering Health Network recognized Officer Heffernan "for his kindness" in bringing in "an apparently homeless lady that may have been 3 months pregnant and bleeding."
The police and fire departments "had dealings with her through the night," the letter states. “I believe that they left her there (a Subway restaurant in the city) earlier because of this.”
“He responded to her twice and had to listen to some badgering from the owner over the phone. He brought her AND carried her heavy bags of probably everything she owned. He didn’t have to do that. He not only transported her and her bags but he did it compassionately. That’s what stood out to me.
“It sounds as if she was a challenge to others and may continue to be but his compassion is what made the difference.”
In another letter, Bucheit, when he was the police chief, praised Officer Heffernan’s teamwork with other officers that resulted in the swift arrest of and overwhelming evidence against a suspect ultimately convicted of fatally shooting a woman outside a Hamilton bar in June 2023.
His work included “vigilantly conducting a field interview” with the suspect days before the shooting that documented “highly critical information,” Bucheit wrote in August 2023.
“Our community is safer due to your efforts and this swift act of justice. Keep up your excellent work and stay safe!”
Six months prior, on Feb. 8, 2023, the chief and Officer Heffernan signed his “Last Chance Agreement to Discipline,” according to his personnel file.
In lieu of a pre-disciplinary hearing, Officer Heffernan agreed to a 15-day suspension for violating department rules of “unbecoming conduct” and “conformance to law,” the agreement shows.
Ten days of his suspension were to be served consecutively during work days that month, and “5 days will be held in abeyance for a period of two years,” the document states.
This “last chance agreement” will remain in place for two years until February 4th 2025.
“Any future alcohol related violations of the Hamilton Police Department general orders may result in the imposition of suspension days held in abeyance; additional suspensions depending upon violation; termination.”
No records in his personnel file explain the "alcohol related violations."
Butler County Area II Court records show the Ohio State Highway Patrol charged him with OVI on Feb. 4, 2023, four days before the agreement was signed.
The charge was amended in August 2023 to reckless operation.