BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A crowd, organized by the Baptist Ministers Conference, gathered on the steps of City Hall on Sunday, chanting spirituals, praying and clapping hands to protest the Feb. 23 shooting of a mental patient in Corryville.

The crowd was estimated at about 350 and spread from the steps of City Hall across Plum Street, causing police to close off that block.

The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, chairman of the direct action committee of the conference, called the shooting by police of Lorenzo Collins, 25, of Avondale, a case of blatant brutality.

He said it brought back memories of when he marched in Birmingham, Ala., 30 years ago against similar police action.

During a confrontation between Mr. Collins and two police officers, Mr. Collins was shot after he was told to drop a brick he had used to threaten the officers. Mr. Collins, who had run away from University Hospital, died at the hospital from gunshot wounds.

The case is still under investigation.

''We are all led by the power of God,'' the Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth said. ''This is what we had to do in Birmingham to get things changed.''

The ministers' conference voted unanimously March 18 to begin non- violent action in Cincinnati to end police brutality and unnecessary use of force to kill and wound civilians.

The Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth said Sunday's demonstration was one of many to come.

''We are going to do more than sing and pray. We are going to keep talking, keep protesting until the police chief and the city manager agree to make a change,'' he said.

The Rev. Damon Lynch Jr., president of the conference, told the crowd about ''organizing God's army against injustice.

''We are protesting a communitywide problem, not a black problem, a white problem or a Jewish problem. This is not about racism. This is about fairness and the safety of all of us,'' the Rev. Mr. Lynch said.

Pete Ridder, president of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), said the shooting was a case where the police did not do anything wrong.

''I think the protesting is premature because the case is still under investigation,'' Mr. Ridder said. ''The court has ruled that police officers have a right to protect themselves when they are threatened. A brick is a deadly weapon.''

He said he considers the protest just as wrong as if officers on the streets had acted on their own without regard to the law. ''I think the protesters should wait until all the facts are in to see if the officers acted within the law,'' Mr. Ridder said.

Previous stories

Baptist ministers protest against Cincinnati police March 20, 1997
Lawsuit seeks $5 million in fatal shooting by police March 13, 1997
Punish police, marchers urge March 5, 1997
FATAL SHOOTING CONCERNS COMMUNITY March 2, 1997
PROBE: POLICE FIRED FOUR SHOTS AT MAN WITH BRICK Feb. 25, 1997
MAN SHOT BY POLICE AFTER CHASE Feb. 24, 1997