BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
By chance, Councilman Charles Winburn ran into an old Hughes High School buddy a few weeks ago, and their conversation about a stolen gun struck him.
During their reunion, Eugene Sams, 47, of Avondale said it was his .38-caliber Charter Arms revolver, stolen during a party he attended in 1989, that was used in the December 1997 shooting deaths of Cincinnati Police Officers Daniel Pope and Ronald Jeter.
It fell into the hands of Alonzo Davenport, who would turn the gun on himself after shooting the officers in a Clifton Heights apartment.
The tale propelled Mr. Winburn to action, and during city council's weekly meeting Wednesday, he called on his colleagues to support a gun-safety lock law in the city.
At the heart of his proposal is requiring Cincinnati gun owners to put safety locks on weapons or at least lock them up when not in use. Mr. Winburn hopes this will provide an extra layer of safety not only for officers, but also residents — especially children.
“The purpose of this gun-safety lock ordinance is aimed at preventing handguns from accidentally being fired, particularly children and teen-agers,” Mr. Winburn said.
Mr. Sams said Wednesday night he hopes his story will effect change — and make the community a safer place to live and work. “The fact that it was used to shoot two police officers is just disturbing to me,” he said.
Democratic council members Todd Portune, Paul Booth and Tyrone Yates praised Mr. Winburn, a Republican, for the proposal. They said the proposal likely would be unpopular with the gun lobby that has traditionally supported the GOP.
Mr. Winburn said his proposal is consistent with his support for the right to bear arms. “If we're going to be pro-guns, we need to also be pro-safety,” he said.
The measure has been forwarded to the city manager for review and will likely be the subject of public hearings early next year.
In other action Wednesday, city council:
• Unanimously approved city-police labor agreements that will give officers 3 percent salary increases in 1999 and 2000. The agreement affects about 1,000 sworn police officers — excluding the police chief — represented by the police union, the Fraternal Order of Police.
• Unanimously approved selling approximately 20 acres of land in the Ridgewood Industrial Park on Este Avenue to three produce companies displaced by the construction of Paul Brown Stadium on the riverfront. Council also approved enterprise-zone tax exemptions estimated at more than $500,000 spread over 10 years for Gentile Brothers Co. Inc., Fries Brothers Inc. and Flatow Riley Inc.
The total selling price for the vacant property is $507,360. The city will use the proceeds for site excavation, driveway and curb cuts, installing utilities, landscape buffers and other “predevelopment improvements.” Sale of the land will allow the city to retain 91 jobs and assist the companies in creating 28 jobs over three years.
The companies are operating from temporary quarters in Pleasant Ridge.
