Jermaine Lowe spent Monday evening with a friend at a West End bar and by midnight found himself in a stolen car, driving up Vine Street with police on his tail.
Officers Scott Bode and Scott Krauser -- partners known as the "two Scotts" -- were in the middle of their overnight shift patrolling Over-the-Rhine when they spotted the stolen dark blue Pontiac. Officer Michael Ammann was alone in his cruiser when he heard radio traffic and joined the pursuit.
It took eight minutes for the officers' lives to be changed forever and for Mr. Lowe's to end.
Mr. Lowe, 21, of Mount Auburn, knew police had a warrant for his arrest on an aggravated robbery charge. That may have been the reason he didn't pull over when police followed him into Clifton Heights. What's harder to explain is what police say happened next: Mr. Lowe crashed the car into someone else's, pointed a gun out the driver's door and began firing.
All three officers returned fire, with a hail of bullets that sent dozens of spent casings into the street. The passenger in Mr. Lowe's car, whom police would not identify, was not injured and has not been charged. Mr. Lowe was the only one hit. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"We heard a lot of gunshots, maybe eight or 10," said Bora Bilgi, 22, a bartender at the Mad Frog, a bar on McMillan Street where there were about 150 patrons.
"Some people didn't care. They were in the back dancing. But some of us were up front, and we were looking out the window trying to figure out what was going on. A lot of people freaked out."
The lives of Mr. Lowe and the three officers converged within the same block of a site that has haunted police for months -- the Hollister Street apartment where two Cincinnati police officers were shot to death Dec. 5 while trying to make an arrest.
"I think it's ironic that this incident occurred literally within one block of where Dan Pope and Ron Jeter were killed," Fraternal Order of Police President Keith Fangman said. "The only difference between this incident and what happened on Hollister Street is that we're not going to have another police funeral."
The funeral instead will be for Mr. Lowe, an out-of-work habitual offender who had been out of prison for about a year.
"He had some rough spots in life, and I hoped he would iron them out without it coming to this," said his mother, Myrvinia Lowe, of Mount Auburn.
About six hours before his death, he had visited his mother. His sister, Nicole Bailey, 25, of Avondale, said he later spent much of the evening with a friend at the Parktown Cafe in the West End.
She wasn't sure when he picked up the car with the Indiana license plates, but she said it still had a woman's purse on the seat when he got it.
The last time Cincinnati police shot at a suspect was Feb. 2, when Officer Kathleen "Katy" Conway returned fire at an attacker who ambushed her cruiser in Over-the-Rhine. Daniel T. Williams hit her with four shots, and she fired back twice, killing him.
Other times have been more controversial, such as the case of escaped mental patient Lorenzo Collins, who was shot to death by police on Feb. 23, 1997, while threatening them with a brick. His death set off protests by African-Americans and advocates for the mentally ill, but officers were cleared of wrongdoing.
The officers involved in Tuesday morning's shooting are on paid administrative leave pending an evaluation by a police psychologist. Officers Bode, 29, and Krauser, 30, joined the force in 1990. Officer Ammann, 28, has been an officer since 1995. Police would not release their personnel files or pictures Tuesday.
Police expect to have more answers as a series of routine city investigations begins:
The police division's homicide unit will handle the criminal investigation. It is awaiting autopsy and ballistics tests to determine which shot killed Mr. Lowe and who fired it. Evidence technicians recovered dozens of shell casings, and investigators will determine how many shots were fired.
The police internal investigation section will examine whether police properly followed procedures.
The Office of Municipal Investigations (OMI) -- the city's investigative arm that has subpoena powers and reports to City Manager John Shirey -- will conduct its own review.
Everything so far indicates police acted properly, Officer Fangman of the FOP said. He would like to see city leaders publicly commend the officers for their bravery.
"They came very, very close to losing their lives last night, and I think that's the least they deserve."
But he knows praise is hard to come by when someone's life has been lost.
"These officers should not hold their breath," he said, "because those accolades are reserved only for police officers who are murdered or seriously wounded."
John Foster Jr. is one of the first to applaud the police actions. He owns Highland Deli in Corryville and says he remembers Mr. Lowe's face from being robbed at gunpoint two months ago. That was the reason for the warrant for Mr. Lowe's arrest.
"I feel sorry for anybody dying," Mr. Foster said. "But I feel a little bit relieved that they got him."
