By JEFF HAWKES
More than two years ago, Roberta Neill's 61-year-old brother called 911 to report a stolen bicycle.
Robert "Bob" Neill then died after responding Mount Joy Borough police officers repeatedly shocked him with a Taser.
The passage of time has only made Roberta Neill angrier, and in an interview Friday she said that she and the public deserve a complete explanation for the police officers' conduct in the early hours of Nov. 6, 2010.
"I would just like for somebody in the police department to say what happened that night," Neill said. "What happened between Bob's call for help and being Tasered?"
She added, "The community is still confused. People are saying, 'We don't believe the police anymore. We believe there's something that happened that's never come out."
A year after the incident in which police allegedly shocked Neill 15 times for a total of 119 seconds, the state attorney general's office investigated the case, but found "no evidence of any criminal conduct."
But last April, one of the officers, Tyson Woods, was terminated for violating the police department's use-of-force policy. Then last August, Chief John O'Connell Jr. was placed on leave while still drawing his $83,591 salary. And last month, the borough agreed to a $900,000 settlement after Neill's children filed suit.
Borough officials have never explained their actions, Neill said.
According to what Woods told state police, Neill talked to him outside his apartment, complaining about being harassed and having his motorized bicycle stolen. He then turned and ran into his apartment.
When Woods and another officer went to the door, Neill, in a state of rage, charged them, according to the state police. The borough officers used Tasers to subdue him.
"Why did they use any force?" Roberta Neill asked. "He's 61 years old with no record of anything. ... Why did they not check into the story that he gave them? And if they did, they would not have used any force."
Neill also wonders why the police did not investigate the crime her brother was reporting. Neill said she believes she knows who was harassing her brother and who took his bicycle. But she said it does not appear an investigation was undertaken.
Neill said her brother was a widower and a Vietnam War veteran who had retired after many years at New Cumberland Army Depot. She described him as a kind, generous and well-liked member of the community who loved to volunteer at his church and the Elizabethtown senior center.
She said her brother was not violent. She said she believes he simply was in a highly agitated state and was rushing down the apartment hall to get outside.
The officer "had no legal right to trap my brother in that hall and not let him out that door," Neill said. "You let him out the door and you let him go. You do not Taser him."
Mount Joy officials have said they cannot comment on the police chief's suspension because it's a personnel matter. In a news story last Saturday, Mayor Mary Ginder said she understands the public's frustration, but she said finding a resolution has taken longer than expected.
"The reason, in my opinion," Neill said, "is a total, complete, 100 percent mishandling of the entire event that led to my brother's death."
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