Sunday, October 17, 1999
Police kill suspect in scuffle
Another death, more questions
BY MARIE McCAIN and DAN KLEPAL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Anti-police graffiti appeared quickly after police shot and killed Cary Tompkins Saturday.
(Steven M. Herrpich photos)
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A life-and-death struggle for a 9mm handgun ended in the third fatal shooting by Cincinnati police this year, one the chief declared “a textbook example” of proper response.
However, angry anti-police graffiti appeared along with tributes to the slain man, Carey Tompkins, within hours of the shooting in the West End.
Cincinnati police, responding to a 911 call reporting someone with a gun, shot and killed Mr. Tompkins early Saturday morning after a struggle.
Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. said Mr. Tompkins was carrying a 9mm handgun in his waistband, and Officer Craig Ball wrestled with him for the weapon moments before the shooting. The chief praised the officers for “a textbook example” of proper response.
However, the shooting left friends and neighbors of Mr. Tompkins not only saddened, but some skeptical of the police version. Anti-police graffiti appeared within hours of the shooting. The messages were grim: “Police we can go to war” and “RIP C-Murda.” C-Murda is Mr. Tompkins' nickname.
It was the third time this year Cincinnati police have used deadly force. In addition to the three fatal shootings, police have fired at four civil ians this year and missed.
Neither Officer Ball, 34, nor Officer Heather Rowcliffe, 24, has fired at civilians since they joined the Cincinnati police force. Officer Ball is a three-year veteran, while Officer Rowcliffe has been with the department for a year and a half.
Neighbor Wannee Sweeten made these T-shirts in memory of Tompkins.
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Chief Streicher said the shooting was justified. He said the officers arrived at 550 York St. about 2:30 a.m. and could hear Mr. Tompkins arguing with a woman inside.
As Mr. Tompkins stepped out of the doorway, which leads to a dark alley off York, Officer Ball put his hand out to stop him and felt the gun, according to Chief Streicher.
“He could feel the gun under the shirt,” the chief said, adding that Mr. Tompkins' shirt raised as pulled away from Officer Ball, giving Officer Rowcliffe a clear view of the 9mm Ruger.
The chief said Mr. Tompkins broke free of Officer Ball and tried to draw the weapon from his waistband. Officer Ball then shot Mr. Tompkins four times in the side.
“This was a very difficult situation,” Chief Streicher said. “It was a very narrow hallway.”
In the recorded 911 conversation, a younger man — presumably Mr. Tompkins — is heard shouting obscenities at a woman, who is crying.
An older-sounding man, identified as the woman's father, is attempting to calm the younger man, who shouts: “If she ever got something to say about me, say it to my face.”
The older man asks him why he would put a gun to the woman. The younger man's response is unintelligible. The older man asks: “You brought a gun out here. What'd you do with the gun.”
Friends of Mr. Tompkins said those actions sound out of character for the man they called “C-Murda.” They say he fathered a baby born to his girlfriend — whom police refused to name — only a month ago. “He wanted to get away from this neighborhood and make a better life for himself,” said Wanee Sweeten, a 27-year-old North Avondale woman who dated Mr. Tompkins last year.
“He was stressed out living here. He wanted peace.”
Wannee Sweeten talks about her friend.
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Ms. Sweeten had 150 T-shirts made with Mr. Tompkins' picture, with the words “Ya Alright Now” on the front and “RIP C-Murda” on the back with his dates of birth and death.
“I wrote that because I know he's all right now,” Ms. Sweeten said. “He wanted peace in his life, and I know that now he's got it now.”
Mr. Tompkins lived with his grandmother on the 500 block of Charlotte Avenue, about a block from where he was shot. He had four warrants for his arrest — one each for obstructing official business and contempt of court, and two for pedestrian violations.
He had been arrested several times, and the charges included resisting arrest and domestic violence.
Still, Odessa Armstrong said he was a good man.
Mrs. Armstrong has lived on York for 52 years and knew Mr. Tompkins since he was in diapers. Mrs. Armstrong's granddaughter graduated from Taft High School the same year as Mr. Tompkins' mother.
“He was so quiet, he hardly ever said a word,” Mrs. Armstrong said. “He was always nice, and very respectful of me. His grandmother raised him right.”
A handful of police cruisers were in the neighborhood Saturday afternoon, and city workers were dispatched to paint over grafitti on several store fronts.
The police presence angered some in the neighborhood.
Andre Akins, 13, watched the cruisers come and go from a laundry facility on the corner of York and Linn Street.
“They just tryin' to mess with us,” Andre said. “They done shot him. What's the sense of driving around?”
The Cincinnati Police homicide unit, internal investigations and the city's Office of Municipal Investigations all will conduct routine investigations of the shooting.
The other police shootings this year include:
Michael Carpenter, 30, was fatally shot by two Cincinnati police officers March 19 during a traffic stop in Northside.
The city's third and final investigation in that case found that the shooting was justified but officers had made tactical errors, including putting themselves in danger and not telling Mr. Carpenter to turn off his car's ignition. That case is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department.
James E. King, 44, who was shot by four Cincinnati police officers Aug. 20 after allegedly robbing a bank. Mr. King led police on a short car chase that ended at a construction site on the University of Cincinnati's main campus.
A pistol was recovered next to Mr. King's body and money believed to be taken in the robbery at the Fifth Third Bank in Corryville was inside his car.
Keith Fangman, president of the FOP Queen City Lodge 69, called Saturday's incident “tragic.”
“However, these officers are very fortunate. ... This reinforces the dangers of this job,” he said. “We are very fortunate that these two officers weren't killed.”
Perry Brothers contributed to this report.
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