Butler County Sheriff's Office

[Public Info Officer]

For Immediate Release… November 23, 2011

Sheriff’s Office Investigating Ross Township Fatal Shooting

Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones confirms today that at the request of Ross Township Police Chief Ben Kramer, Sheriff’s Detectives were assigned to investigate last night’s events that culminated in the fatal shooting of Michael Snader, Jr., of School Road, Ross, by a Ross Township Police Officer.

Shortly after 11:30 pm last night, township officers responded to an active domestic violence call at 2426 School Road in Ross Township. Preliminary findings suggest that the suspect’s threatening actions while armed with a “long gun” resulted in a Ross Township Officer firing multiple shots from his duty weapon to end the threat. Snader died at the scene from the gunshot injuries. Ross Township Police Chief Ben Kramer conversed with Sheriff’s Office Officials shortly after his arrival at the scene last night, requesting assistance and turning over formal investigation of the case to the Sheriff’s Office. In response to that request, a team of five Sheriff’s Investigators, in conjunction with the Butler County Coroner’s Office, are now investigating the matter.

In the early stages of the investigation, Sheriff’s Detectives reviewed the 9-1-1 emergency call that came from the address. During that call, a male voice, believed to be that of the deceased, is heard in the background threatening to use a firearm against two members of the female caller’s family, who were en-route to the residence.

“It’s always a good idea to have an independent set of eyes look into a matter as significant as this,” said Sheriff Jones. “Police Officers are always faced with the possibility of taking actions that have major consequences. My office is certainly willing to step in whenever and wherever assistance is needed.”

Prepared by: Sgt. Monte Mayer
Public Information Officer
Operations Support