A patient who ran away from a police hold at University Hospital Sunday afternoon was shot and critically wounded after a foot chase through neighboring Corryville.
The shooting victim, identified as Lorenzo Collins, 25, of the 3800 block of Reading Road, was listed in critical condition late Sunday in University Hospital. He was threatening police with a brick when he was shot, according to police and witnesses at the scene.
Mr. Collins had been in the hospital on a mental hold requested by the Springdale police department.
Cincinnati Police identified the officers who shot Mr. Collins as Cincinnati Police Spc. Douglas Depodesta and University of Cincinnati Police Officer John Engles. Lt. Tim Schoch, spokesman for the Cincinnati Police Division, said each officer fired ''at least one shot'' at Mr. Collins during the confrontation in the rear yard of a residence at 237 E. Rochelle St.
''He came at officers with a brick,'' Lt. Schoch said. ''He was warned on several occasions to put down the brick.'' The officers tried to subdue him with a chemical irritant before the shooting, Lt. Schoch said.
Spc. Depodesta and Officer Engles were interviewed by investigators Sunday night. As in all cases where Cincinnati officers fire their weapons, the incident is being investigated separately by the police Criminal Investigation Section, the police Internal Investigations Section and the Office of Contract Compliance and Investigations, which reports to the city manager.
Several witnesses said they heard as many as seven shots.
Cincinnati Police received a call for assistance from university police about 3:50 p.m. and the shooting occurred at 3:59 p.m., investigators said. The site of the shooting is about three blocks from the hospital.
Greg Hand, spokesman for the university, refered all questions on the matter to Cincinnati police.
Lt. Schoch said Spc. Podesta has 3 1/2 years experience, and Officer Engles has 10 years on the job. Both officers have been placed on administrative leave, which is routine in such situations, said Lt. Schoch.
Springdale police had questioned Mr. Collins regarding a theft offense, and during the questioning the suspect ''basically thought he was a demon,'' Lt. Schoch said.
Late Sunday, Springdale police issued a statement saying Mr. Collins had been brought in for questioning about thefts from Value City Department Store on Saturday and on Jan. 7. Because of the way he behaved during questioning, he was admitted to University Hospital on Saturday for an evaluation, Springdale police said.
Michelle Hadnot, 27, of Corryville, witnessed the suspect fleeing from police near the intersection of Rochelle Street and Bellevue Avenue.
''The young man jumped the fence (of an apartment complex) and fell (on East Rochelle Street),'' she said.
''He got hurt when he jumped, but he got up and ran,'' said Brad Fischer, a UC sophomore criminal justice major from nearby University Avenue who witnessed part of the pursuit from a car stopped at intersection.
Mr. Collins, clad in house slippers, a flannel shirt and blue hospital pants, then ran up the street into the yard of 237 E. Rochelle, where he was confronted by police, witnesses said.
''He was just holding a brick,'' Ms. Hadnot said. ''They (police officers) shot seven times.''
Ricky Pugh, 29, of Corryville, said he also witnessed the shooting.
''The dude came out of the bushes with a brick,'' Mr. Pugh said. ''They (police officers) told him to put it down. He didn't, and they shot him.''
Mr. Pugh questioned whether the officers should have fired.
''They had no reason to shoot the guy,'' he said. ''They could have ... grabbed him and wrestled him down.''
Mark Walker, 34, of Corryville, said a man on a porch tried to get Mr. Collins to surrender. The man shouted ''don't give them a reason to shoot you,'' Mr. Walker said.
Several neighborhood residents said they thought the police could have handled the situation without firing their guns.
''There's other ways to deal with it,'' said Michelle Hadnot.
Sunday's incident is the second shooting involving a person being held at University Hospital since Dec. 17. On that day Nathaniel Taylor, 26, struggled with Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Boyd as Deputy Boyd attempted to shackle him to return to jail. Deputy Boyd was shot in the buttocks as Mr. Taylor grabbed the officer's gun in its holster.
Following the December incident, UC Assistant Police Chief Robert Rohrbach said UC police would review procedures for dealing with inmates needing medical attention.
Hospital spokesman Rick Smith was unsure whether Mr. Collins was under guard after he was admitted to the hospital Saturday.
Tom O'Neill contributed to this report.
