Debbie Lacey, lead investigator for the Butler County Coroner’s office, said an autopsy revealed the cause of Boucher’s death was a skull fracture, which he received when he fell face forward after he was stunned.
No drugs or alcohol were found in Boucher's body, according to Lacey.
Officers Daniel Fry and Sean McCormick stopped at the Speedway at the corner of Tylersville and Reading Road for a drink when a female clerk asked them to talk to Boucher because she claimed he had propositioned and harassed her, Interim Police Chief Mike Kelly said after the incident.
The clerk claimed Boucher also had propositioned her the night before at the gas station, according to Kelly.
The two officers approached Boucher and asked him to go outside. Kelly said the officers were attempting to handcuff Boucher when he wrestled away and hit Fry in the head with his one handcuffed hand. When he tried to go after the clerk again — she had come outside — McCormick attempted to use a Taser on him. The first shot failed, but the second one employed the shock.
Boucher stopped breathing after he was stunned and officers tried to perform CPR, Kelly said. He was taken to West Chester Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Fry was treated and released from Bethesda North Hospital.
The officers are on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation of the incident.
Kelly said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation is handling the investigation into the incident.
“I want everything to be transparent,” he said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.
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