BY ADAM WEINTRAUB
and B.G. GREGG
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Groups that interpret the Lorenzo Collins shooting differently are planning events to send their messages to the community.

The union for Cincinnati police has called for a "unity march" Wednesday on City Hall to support the city officer who shot Mr. Collins, and the Black MARCHERS will carry caskets through the streets of downtown again.

The police unity march is to start at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, just before a city council meeting, in support of Officer Douglas Depodesta. Officer Depodesta and University of Cincinnati Officer John Engel shot Mr. Collins Feb. 23 as he brandished a brick; Mr. Collins died five days later.

The police march will also show support for Officer Orlando Smith, who shot Darnell E. Brown in the neck in North Avondale on Feb. 3. Police have said Officer Smith shot Mr. Brown, ripping a 6-inch gash in his throat, when Mr. Brown tried to run him over with a car.

Officers Depodesta and Engel shot Mr. Collins in a yard in Corryville after he escaped from a locked ward at University Hospital. City officers never received information that Mr. Collins had been treated for possible mental problems.

The Hamilton County coroner's office report on Mr. Collins' death, obtained by The Enquirer on Monday, states that he died from three gunshot wounds - to the left thigh, groin and right shoulder. The last shot entered from above and on the back side of Mr. Collins' shoulder, and came out near his right nipple.

From the downward trajectory of that bullet, investigators think Mr. Collins was bending or falling forward when it struck, either while moving toward the officers or in reaction to the bullet that struck his abdomen.

But the attorney for Mr. Collins' family, Kenneth Lawson, said the autopsy shows that Mr. Collins was turning from police when he was shot.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters has cleared both officers of criminal wrongdoing; both are awaiting the outcome of city administrative investigations.

"Joe Deters has cleared (Officer Depodesta), and we're confident that he followed rules and procedures," said Pete Ridder, president of Fraternal Order of Police Queen City Lodge 69.

"This is just to let the community know that when we're right, when we follow the procedures, we expect council to stand behind us," Mr. Ridder said.

Nathaniel Livingston Jr., a spokesman for the Black MARCHERS, said police are trying to "cover up" that Mr. Collins had turned away from them when he was shot.

The Black MARCHERS' plan to draw attention to what they think is police brutality is to ask supporters to carry plywood coffins through the streets of downtown.

Two other events are planned for June, said the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, a leader of a coalition of groups that have come together to protest Mr. Collins' shooting. A protest will be held at the Cincinnati Police Division's Training Academy, and a "burial" is planned for Fountain Square.

ENOUGH GUILT TO SHARE Laura Pulfer column

Previous stories

SHOOT FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER Peter Bronson column, June 1, 1997
COLLINS PROTESTS CONTINUE May 31, 1997
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
NO CRIME FOUND IN COLLINS SHOOTING 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