BY ADAM WEINTRAUB
The Cincinnati Enquirer
As word spread Friday about Cincinnati Police Sgt. John Sess - who reportedly admitted he planted a bag of marijuana on a drug suspect 13 years ago - so did the questions about the case.
Mayor Roxanne Qualls said she asked City Manager John Shirey to tell council members - by Monday morning at the latest - what has happened in the case so far and what other actions will be taken. Spokesmen for community groups that have demanded an outside investigation of a recent police
shooting said they will "call out (Police Chief Michael) Snowden" to explain why Sgt. Sess was not taken off the street and assigned to desk duty until Friday, close to three weeks after he told investigators about the drug incident.
Some officers within the police division said Sgt. Sess should have been removed from duty, if only to insulate other officers against the questions of police integrity raised by the case.
"This is a very serious issue," Ms. Qualls said, adding she asked Mr. Shirey Friday for a full explanation of how the case was handled.
Members of the Coalition for Justice and Equality scheduled a demonstration for 5 p.m. Wednesday at police headquarters.
The coalition, said organizer Kenneth L. Lawson, "will be outside of District 1 calling for the chief . . . to come out or to meet us outside to explain how an officer can admit to planting dope on a citizen, send that citizen to prison, and that officer (can) still keep his job as a Cincinnati Police officer."
The coalition is a cluster of groups that have worked together to protest alleged police misconduct and call for changes since the fatal Feb. 23 police shooting of Lorenzo Collins, a brick-wielding African-American mental patient.
Mr. Lawson, an attorney and local spokesman for the Rainbow Coalition, is representing the Collins family in their $10 million lawsuit against the city and the University of Cincinnati.
The new controversy comes against the backdrop of a proposed city Charter amendment that would remove selection of the police chief and two assistant chiefs from the civil service process. Backers say the change could lead to the city's first African-American police chief.
"Snowden is one of the best guys you will ever find in terms of his heart," said the Rev. Damon Lynch Jr., president of the Baptist Ministers Conference, which has joined in the coalition's protests. "But his willingness to do the right thing has been overwhelmed by his department."
Chief Snowden did not return calls seeking his comment Friday. Members of his staff said he was out of the office Friday. Assistant Chief H. Bruce Knox, in charge of the police division in Chief Snowden's absence, also failed to return telephone calls seeking comment. Thursday night, the chief said Sgt. Sess had admitted about three weeks ago to planting the marijuana in 1984. The admission reportedly came as Sgt. Sess was being asked, during a screening for candidates seeking to join the Regional Enforcement Narcotics Unit, about any improper conduct during his career.
According to the chief, Sgt. Sess told investigators he put the marijuana in the pocket of a drug suspect who had thrown away narcotics during a foot chase.
The suspect eventually pleaded guilty to a charge based on the marijuana he threw away, which police found, not the planted bag in his pocket, according to police officials. The police have refused to identify the suspect and he has not been located.
Police said Friday that Sgt. Sess was pulled from patrol duties for a day after he made the admission, then took about a week of vacation before he went back to work in police District 4.
Sgt. Sess could not be reached for comment again on Friday.
Chief Snowden said Thursday that several facts weighed into the decision not to strip Sgt. Sess of his police powers, including the passage of 13 years, the fact that Sgt. Sess volunteered the information, and that no corroborating evidence has yet been found. Sgt. Sess could face criminal charges related to official misconduct if other evidence turns up.
Laura Goldberg contributed to this report.
Previous story
OFFICER ON DUTY DESPITE DAMAGING ADMISSIONMay 9, 1997
