BY JOHN HOPKINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Lorenzo Collins

Protesters in the shooting of Lorenzo Collins - the brick-wielding mental patient who was killed by police in February - on Monday rejected the city's latest investigation of the shooting and said they would escalate demonstrations throughout the city.

CLICK HERE for a summary and links to the three-day Enquirer series sparked by the shooting death of Lorenzo Collins.

"We intend to keep the protests up," said the Rev. Damon Lynch Jr., president of the Baptist Ministers Conference. "As a matter of fact, we're going to intensify them and be out in the street to let Cincinnati, and hopefully the nation, know that this can't be tolerated."

The Rev. Mr. Lynch's statement was part of a press conference by the Baptist Ministers Conference, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Urban League, Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and several other groups. Speaking at the Church of Our Savior in Mount Auburn, the groups rejected the latest report into the Collins shooting by the Office of Municipal Investigation (OMI).

The groups did not mince words about OMI's report, which was written by Ernest McAdams Jr., an African-American who was the chief investigator.

The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth called it "an insult to the intelligence and the needs of the black and minority community. It adds insult to injury in that it rubber-stamped the injustice approved by the (city) manager and is presented with the approval of a systemic black face and voice."

Mr. Collins was surrounded by 15 police officers, two of whom shot him. The OMI report, released Aug. 1, faulted the officers only because their shots might have injured other officers or civilians, not because they used deadly force against Mr. Collins. Previous investigations by police and the Hamilton County prosecutor's office also found no criminal wrongdoing by the officers involved.

"It is an abomination that no one has been held responsible for the death of Lorenzo Collins, said Milton Hinton, president of the NAACP. "It's particularly disappointing and even alarming that the one office that we are supposed to put our faith in for doing a fair and impartial and thorough investigation has failed us miserably."

The groups called for an independent civilian review board with subpoena powers to investigate and give reports. It is the only way, they said, to ensure citizen complaints are dealt with properly and received without retaliation.

The city's Law Committee was also not satisfied with the OMI report, said Tyrone Yates, chairman of the committee. Mr. Yates described it as "less than complete."

The upshot is that OMI will now do a "review and redo" of the report, Mr. Yates said. In redoing the report, the Law Committee wants a number of concerns to be addressed, including that:

• No coroner or forensic information was attached.

• Too few witnesses were interviewed, especially private citizens.

• There was a lack of a careful legal analysis on the laws of use of deadly force.

Previous stories

CITY ISSUES COLLINS REPORT August 5, 1997
COPS SHOULDN'T HAVE FIRED, OMI SAYS August 2, 1997
COLLINS REPORT LEAVES QUESTIONS August 2, 1997
20 PROTEST AT COP'S HOME July 13, 1997
COLLINS CASE TO GET PUBLIC REVIEW July 3, 1997
POLICE ORDERED TO CARRY BATONS July 2, 1997
REVIEWS CLEAR POLICE IN COLLINS SHOOTING July 1, 1997
COLLINS CASE IS BEING DISTORTED An Editorial, June 8, 1997
POLICE SUPPORT OFFICERS IN SHOOTINGS June 5, 1997
POLICE UNION, PROTESTERS PLAN DEMONSTRATIONS June 3, 1997
ENOUGH GUILT TO SHARE Laura Pulfer column, June 3, 1997
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