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Cincinnati excessive force subduing unarmed man { December 2 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,104563,00.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,104563,00.html
Probe Into Cincinnati Beating Death Just Beginning
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
CINCINNATI — No decision would be made in whether Cincinnati cops used excessive force in subduing an unarmed 350-pound man, who later died, until an investigation was completed, the city's police chief said Tuesday.
"I don't think you can have a final judgment at this point," Chief Thomas Streicher told a television morning news show.
A squad-car videotape showed officers striking Nathaniel Jones (search), 41, with their batons.
"I think there's enough on the tape to have a preliminary judgment about what occurred," Streicher added. "It's obvious one of the officers was assaulted while he was trying to calm down Mr. Jones."
Streicher also said it appeared that officers followed proper procedures.
A civilian watchdog panel born from riots that followed the shooting of an unarmed black man in 2001 was looking into the death of Jones, who also was black.
"This panel was created as part of the city's attempt to have transparent government, so that citizens can be confident that issues, claims, allegations of misconduct against police or other city employees will be fully and fairly investigated," Mayor Charlie Luken told members of the Citizen Complaint Authority (search) on Monday night.
"We turn to you to do just that in this critical time in our history," he added. "We turn to you for a full and fair and thorough investigation."
CCA chairwoman Nancy Minson said investigators went to the scene of the arrest, the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, on Sunday, hours after Jones had been taken to a hospital and died.
Preliminary autopsy results showed Jones had an enlarged heart and that his blood contained cocaine and PCP, or "angel dust."
Both can cause bizarre or aggressive behavior, Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott said.
Minson said the complaint board began its investigation on its own, which it can do when a death involves police or when shots are fired. Monday night's regular meeting of the panel was disrupted by four activists who demanded quick action.
"It's apparent that you don't know what you're supposed to be doing and what your authority is," said Nate Livingston Jr., a member of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati (search), which has been promoting a boycott of the city since the 2001 police-shooting death.
"When they start fighting in the streets, you'll say, 'Why didn't you do it the right way? Why didn't you come to City Hall? Why didn't you trust us? Why didn't you talk to us?'"
Minson called police to escort Livingston and three others from the room when they continued to shout at the panel.
Jones' death raised new allegations of police brutality, just as the city was starting to recover from the effects of the April 2001 riots and the boycott that followed.
Justice Department spokesman Jorge Martinez said information was being gathered to determine if federal action was warranted.
After seeing the video, Luken rejected activists' demand that he force Streicher to resign.
"What I saw was a 400-pound man violently attacking a police officer in a manner that put the lives of police officers at risk," Luken said. "While the investigations will continue, there is nothing on those tapes to suggest that the police did anything wrong."
Fire emergency personnel responded early Sunday to a report of a man passed out on the grass outside the fast-food restaurant. They told a dispatcher that the man was awake and "becoming a nuisance," and police were sent, according to police radio transmissions.
The first two officers to arrive, Baron Osterman and James Pike, were shown on videotape striking Jones after he ignored orders to "stay back," took a swing at an officer and put his arm around an officer's neck.
The officers knocked Jones to the ground and fell on him, and jabbed or struck him with nightsticks at least a dozen times. They kept yelling, "Put your hands behind your back!" as they struggled to handcuff him.
Additional police were dispatched. All six officers who responded — five whites and one black — were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
The 2001 riots stemmed from the shooting of Timothy Thomas, 19, who was wanted on several misdemeanor charges and fled from police when they tried to arrest him. Officer Stephen Roach shot him in a dark alley and was later cleared at trial of criminal charges.
A federal investigation of the shooting, requested by the city, resulted in an agreement to tighten policies on use of force and improve handling of citizen complaints.
In February, a white officer chased and fatally shot a black man who was seen running from a store that had been broken into. Police, prosecutors and the CCA concluded the shooting was justified because the suspect was beating the officer with his nightstick.
On Monday, the Cincinnati chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (search) called for further changes in police use of force.
"If proper procedure means that you can use that kind of force to clobber people repeatedly who are clearly disarmed, then there's something wrong with the policy," said Calvert Smith, chapter president.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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