The danger of whistling
Daryl Irby was injured in a police confrontation in May 1996, which began with him whistling while standing at an Over-the-Rhine street corner.
"I was whistling at some girl. This car pulled up in front of me, and two guys jumped out of the car and started beating on me," said Mr. Irby.
Not until later did Mr. Irby realize the men were undercover police officers Thomas McDaniel and Timothy Gormly, who are both white.
"They started hitting me, turned me around and threw my head into a glass wall. Then they threw me down on the ground head first," said Mr. Irby, who is imprisoned in Noble Correctional Institution in Caldwell, Ohio, on an unrelated theft conviction.
"I was cut really bad over my left eye. My skin was still hanging on the glass. It was pretty ugly."
He was then handcuffed and arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. There were many witnesses, he said, but none was interviewed by police.
The officers contended that they stopped him because they thought Mr. Irby was a drug dealer. But police found no drugs on Mr. Irby, then 40.
Mr. Irby pleaded no contest to a charge of disorderly conduct and was fined $153. Internal investigators found the officers' actions appropriate, but the then-head of the unit sounded a warning about the arrest.
Capt. Joseph Koch recommended a review of similar arrests made earlier by Street Corner officers and wrote: "A citizen could possibly become seriously injured by officers from an incident that began by merely whistling at someone. This could place the division in very bad light and have a damaging effect."
Students sprayed
Tamela Guyton was among some 250 teens who stood outside Taft High School one afternoon in October 1995, waiting to register for night school.
Cincinnati police officer Thaddeus Steele repeatedly told the group gathered by the school's door to "form an orderly line."
Ms. Guyton was six months pregnant. There were others in the crowd who were also pregnant. Some suffered from asthma.
Suddenly, the officer started spraying chemical irritant at the crowd, sending people running.
"For him to just Mace a group of kids without warning and without knowing if there were pregnant women in the crowd, I felt it was very rude and nasty. It was wrong and insensitive," she said.
"The manner in which he acted was very nasty and it can give people very negative images of police. We didn't do anything to make him do that."
Katina Barnes went to the police station after the incident with a friend and filed two different complaints. Two years have passed and the women say theyhave never heard from police.
"The whole situation I feel was not right," she said.
How did police justify the action? By comparing the scene of teenagers rushing to get into school to the scene at Cincinnati's infamous and deadly Who concert, where people were killed while trying to get inside Riverfront Coliseum.
A painful return
When 73-year-old Susan Miller entered the Elder-Beerman store in the Swifton Commons Mall in May 1995, she was intent on returning two dresses that she said were too small.
She ended up being arrested, getting sprayed with chemical irritant , and suffering a broken leg and several broken fingers.
According to a police investigation into the case, store clerks disagreed with Ms. Miller on whether she could return one of the dresses, which appeared worn. The store called police when Ms. Miller was adamant on taking two new dresses, and Officer Margaret Scrafano arrived.
In attempting to arrest Ms. Miller for theft, the woman resisted, the officer said. There was a struggle that resulted in the injuries to Ms. Miller and a police investigation into use of force.
While Officer Scrafano was exonerated; internal investigators concluded she did nothing wrong; two of her superiors were disciplined because they did not properly investigate the case.
Today's coverage
Force often used in custody GIF (133K)
Process for investigating use of force STORY
Police: Tough job, many critics STORY
Mistaken identities but no apologies STORY
Case stories STORY
Monday
City's watchdog barks but doesn't bite.
Tuesday
Experts suggest
solutions.
Making of the series
1,400 cases reviewed STORY
Police response STORY
