The Oxford police officer who appeared to repeatedly punch a restrained Miami University student was suspended by his previous employer, an Enquirer review of public records found.

The officer, Matthew Blauvelt, is currently on paid administrative leave while the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office conducts an independent investigation into the use of force, Oxford Police Chief John Jones said in a statement Wednesday.

An Enquirer review of Blauvelt’s personnel file found that he was hired by the Oxford Police Department in 2013 after being suspended from the Hamilton Police Department in 2012 for “acts unbecoming of a police officer.”

The Enquirer reached out to Blauvelt for comment via email but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Blauvelt said in an interview as part of the Oxford department’s background investigation that he had a “sexual encounter” with a woman during his dinner break while working as a Hamilton police officer. While taking a polygraph test, Blauvelt said he knew he was going to be dismissed from the department so he resigned.

Blauvelt said he had also been disciplined by the Hamilton Police Department a few times for minor infractions, but no more details were provided.

Despite the suspension, the former Hamilton police chief said in a letter to the Oxford police that he felt Blauvelt had learned from his mistake and was an “officer of the highest caliber.”

What happened?

A video of the incident in Oxford circulated on social media showed Blauvelt striking Miami University student Devin Johnson in the head as he was restrained by two other people outside Brick Street Bar.

“We acknowledge that the videos are difficult to watch. Any use of force can cause emotional reactions and attract news media attention as it involves split-second judgments in situations that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly changing,” Jones said in his statement on Wednesday.

The Oxford Police Department said in a statement on Dec. 24 that its original review of the incident did not include the video angle posted on social media.

Jones said he understood the incident caused a loss of public trust in the department and that the prosecutor’s investigation will look into why video evidence was not examined during the initial use of force review.

Johnson is facing charges in Butler County Area 1 Court, including underage possession of alcohol, criminal trespass, resisting arrest and assault, according to court records.

His attorney said Johnson has maintained he is innocent of all charges.

Different accounts, student’s lawyer releases additional video

The Fraternal Order of Police Hamilton Lodge 38 said the officer, Matthew Blauvelt, was justified in his use of force against the “larger, younger and stronger” college student in a statement on Dec. 28.

In its own statement on Dec. 29, Brick Street said the incident started when Johnson illegally entered the wrong gate on the patio and pushed a female bar employee out of the way before grabbing the collar of another employee and swinging at the crowd manager’s face.

Videos posted by Johnson’s attorney, Ryan Agee, show Johnson pushed out of the Brick Street gate by a bar employee. Johnson then pushes the employee back and they move, locked together, toward the bar patio.

Agee published the additional videos and released a statement on Monday in response to what he said were “false or misleading statements” from Brick Street Bar and the FOP.

Did Blauvelt’s actions fall under Oxford’s use of force policy?

In his use of force report, Blauvelt said Johnson was combative, refused to follow commands and resisted him.

“I was able to detach from him and then used three upper body strikes to attempt to gain compliance,” Blauvelt wrote. He said he also used two knee strikes.

The Oxford Police Department’s use of force policy allows for the use of force to “effect an arrest,” or overcome resistance, but notes that the reasonableness of use of force depends on multiple factors, including the severity of the threat to the officer and the individual’s mental state.

Erin Glynn is the watchdog reporter for Butler, Warren and Clermont counties through the Report For America program. The Enquirer needs local donors to help fund her grant-funded position. If you want to support Glynn’s work, you can donate to her Report For America position at this website or email her editor Carl Weiser at cweiser@enquirer.com to find out how you can help fund her work. 

Do you know something she should know? Send her a note at eglynn@enquirer.com and follow her on X at @ee_glynn.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Oxford officer in use of force incident was previously suspended