The Cincinnati police officer shot Wednesday by a shoplifting suspect was hit with a bullet from his sergeant's gun.

        The suspect, Jeffrey Irons, managed to get Sgt. Andre Smith's weapon from its holster, police said Friday, and shot Officer Tim Pappas in the hand.

        Shots were exchanged, and the 30-year-old man was killed in a Pleasant Ridge yard after running from an IGA where he allegedly tried to steal deodorant and shaving cream.

        Mr. Irons' death was the second in two days involving Cincinnati police officers and black suspects, and several African-American leaders are calling for federal intervention. A rally and prayer vigil is set for 2 p.m. Sunday outside City Hall.

        Tuesday night, a College Hill man died after he was subdued by five officers in a Sunoco parking lot in Roselawn. Saying it's still too premature to release much information, police officials have not yet identified the crime for which Roger Owensby, 29, was suspected.

        Among the few new de tails released Friday were that homicide investigators are reviewing tapes from the video recorders in the officers' cruisers. They're also canvassing for more witnesses, according to a statement released by the division.

        In the Irons case, they released that he most recently lived at the Drop Inn Center, an Over-the-Rhine homeless shelter.

        Chief Tom Streicher continued to rebut the allegation by Black United Front organizer the Rev. Damon Lynch III that Mr. Owensby was stopped only because of his skin color. The chief says that the officers recognized Mr. Owensby specifically.

        Three officers were working in the area after residents complained about disorderly people and drug activity, police said.

        A call for help from one of them attracted two more Cincinnati officers and some from Golf Manor, the police division said Friday.

        A preliminary autopsy report showed that Mr. Owensby died from mechanical asphyxia, Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott Jr. said, possibly caused by a choke hold or a “piling on” of officers.

        Fraternal Order of Police President Keith Fangman said he hopes the public doesn't react to the lag in information by having more contempt for the officers involved. He said he saw the five officers shortly after the Tuesday night incident and noticed them with torn clothes and abrasions.

        “And it's unfortunate,” he said, “that the police critics and some members of City Council have shown no concern for our officer who was shot by a violent suspect who grabbed away another officer's gun.”

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