Shooting victim’s family ‘not satisfied’ with grand jury ruling

On Jan. 18, Caleb Surface, 23, was shot to death by Fairfield police Officer Scott Conklin in a cul-de-sac at the end of Saint Andrews Court. Conklin was responding to a domestic dispute on Spyglass Hill Court, which is just north of Saint Andrews Court.

The results of a Bureau of Criminal Investigations report were presented to a Butler County grand jury late last week and no indictment was handed down. Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said the lethal use of force by Conklin “was justified.”

But Ed Kathman, the cousin of Jeff Surface, Caleb Surface’s father, said the family is unhappy with the results.

“When you look through that report, there’s nothing independent that corroborates that dialogue that Conklin said he had with Caleb,” said Kathman, who spoke on behalf of the family. “They expect us to take the word from a guy who has a checkered record. That’s the difficulty with this.”

At the time of the shooting, Conklin, a 10-year veteran, had been recommend for termination by Fairfield police Chief Mike Dickey due to work performance issues, such as questions of accuracy in his reports, showing up for work and response times. Since then, an agreement has been reached and Conklin will be given a four-day suspension.

Testimony from nine witnesses was considered by the grand jury.

At the time of the shooting, Surface was unarmed, but according to witnesses, he allegedly told Conklin he was armed and threatened to kill him. At the time of his death, a black and silver cordless telephone receiver was found in Surface’s right hand, according to the investigation.

Kathman said he would like to see more happen, and hopes there is an additional or “more of a complete report” from BCI.

He said the family would also like to see the Fairfield Police Department’s procedure on handling a “mentally unstable person.” Surface’s family had previously described him as a “kind-hearted young man who had many challenges with chemical dependency” and his father “has dedicated his life to helping Caleb overcome these issues.”