BY ADAM WEINTRAUB
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Lorenzo Collins

About two dozen people marched around the edge of Fountain Square with a coffin Friday afternoon in the first of a series of protests over the decision not to prosecute officers involved in the shooting of Lorenzo Collins.

"If the city wants to get rid of this image, if the city doesn't want a casket to be its showpiece, then the city needs to stop filling caskets," the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth said as he called on church leaders to recruit growing "squadrons" of protesters.

The Rev. Shuttlesworth is one of the leaders of a coalition of groups that have rallied around the Collins case to call for changes in police hiring, policy, procedures and oversight. He reminded protesters about a rally set for 7 p.m. Monday at Greater New Hope Missionary Baptist Church and called on them to "fill it up."

"We're going to continue these protests downtown in the weeks and months to come until we get some redress from City Hall," said the Rev. Damon Lynch Jr., president of the Baptist Ministers Conference.

Mr. Collins, 25, of Avondale, was fatally wounded by police Feb. 23 in a side yard in Corryville after charging at police with a brick, investigators have said. Cincinnati Police Officer Douglas Depodesta and University of Cincinnati Officer John Engel fired a total of four shots, striking Mr. Collins three times.

Cincinnati officers never received word that Mr. Collins had a history of mental problems. He had escaped minutes before the shooting from a locked ward at University Hospital - where he had been placed for a mental evaluation and witnesses said he was frightening other patients - and died there five days later.

It was the third time he had left the hospital since December, and the second time after being brought there by police who said he had committed a crime.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters on Wednesday ruled that Officers Depodesta and Engel had committed no crime, but raised questions about several aspects of the case, including poor communication and security for those mentally ill patients who show signs of violence. The city administration and police internal investigations section are continuing a probe of the shooting, as is the University of Cincinnati. The case has also been referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for review.

Former Ohio state Sen. William Bowen, who attended the protest march, called for changes to improve the safety of the relatively small number of mental patients who are violent.

One change he suggested was distinctive clothing for mental patients being treated at area hospitals, similar to the orange jumpsuits worn by prisoners on work details.

"Every law enforcement officer and his uncle knows what that orange jumpsuit means," Mr. Bowen said. A similarly distinctive garb for mental patients would alert police and allow them to use their training to defuse the situation. If Mr. Collins had been wearing such a uniform, "it's hindsight, but my guess is that man would be alive today," he said.

Mr. Bowen also suggested that Cincinnati invest in Taser electric stun guns for every police car, not just those used by supervisors as is now the case. Similar suggestions have been made by others, including Councilman Charlie Winburn.

Previous stories

RADIO LINKS ERRATIC IN COLLINS CHASE May 30, 1997
POLICY ON POLICE HOLDS UNCLEAR May 30, 1997
POLICE SUMMARY OF ITS INVESTIGATION May 29, 1997
DIAGRAM OF THE SHOOTING SCENE May 29, 1997
NINE MINUTES OF CONFUSION: THE SHOOTING OF LORENZO COLLINS May 27, 1997
DIAGRAM RECONSTRUCTING THE EVENTS May 27, 1997
TRAINING, POLICIES AND POLICE ACTION May 27, 1997
WHY DID THE COPS KILL LORENZO? Peter Bronson column, May 25, 1997
BORGMAN CARTOON May 25, 1997
PUSH FOR POLICE REVIEW FEARED May 9, 1997
FBI TO REVIEW COLLINS CASE May 8, 1997
MARCHERS VOW SEASON OF DISRUPTIONS May 5, 1997
PROSECUTORS GET REPORT ON FATAL SHOOTING April 29, 1997
SHOOTING PROTESTERS ALLEGE POLICE BRUTALITY April 17, 1997
DEMONSTRATORS CITE SHOOTING OF MENTAL PATIENT March 24, 1997
BAPTIST MINISTERS PROTEST AGAINST POLICE March 20, 1997
LAWSUIT SEEKS $5 MILLION 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