The parents of a Cincinnati police officer charged with killing a man in his custody say city officials are ignoring pleas for support and care more about criminals than police.

        In a letter sent Friday to the mayor and city council, Joyce Jorg said her son has been in essence convicted without benefit of a trial.

Jorg

Caton

        At the same time, she said, politicians mourned over the deaths of two men who were killed by police after violent struggles.

        “The city leaders cried with the relatives of these men and they forgot about Officer (Tim) Pappas who nearly lost his own life and threw away Officer (Robert) Jorg like yesterday's bath water,” her letter said.

        Mr. Jorg has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Nov. 7 death of Roger Owensby, who was asphyxiated after being arrested in the parking lot of a Roselawn gas station.

MRS. JORG'S LETTER

Text of the open letter to city and county leaders written Friday by Joyce A. Jorg, mother of Cincinnati Police Officer Robert Blaine Jorg.     “I address this letter with respect to Mayor Luken, member of City Council, the City Manager, and Mike Allen and all the powers that be.     “At first there were tears, then numbness, followed by disbelief. I watched this ugly situation play, then the anger and now my own outrage. The City Fathers and Mothers went to the funerals of two men who choose to resist arrest and as a result of their own actions they escalated an arrest into a violent struggle and as a result lost their lives.     “The City leaders cried with the relatives of these men and they forgot about Officer Pappas who nearly lost his own life and threw away Officer Jorg like yesterday's bath water.     “Officer Blaine Jorg was cut to the heart. He was stripped of his dignity, humiliated in public and left to be further vilified. When in fact he is a Police Officer of the highest moral character. A man who goes on duty with the hope that he can truly help someone.     “Not just to do what is necessary, but to actually make a difference in a positive manner. You have pronounced him guilty and not even bothered to look him in the eye, for if you did you would see an innocent man looking back at you. What a shameful demonstration of law and order.     “Blaine has more integrity, honesty and value for human life than all of you added together.”

        Another officer, Patrick Caton, was charged with assaulting Mr. Owensby.

        The day after Mr. Owensby died, Officer Pappas was shot in the hand by an accused shoplifter who got hold of another officer's gun during a scuffle. The man, Jeffrey Irons, was shot and killed by police.

        Officer Pappas said later that not one of the city's nine elected council members called after the incident. Calling it demoralizing for the city's 1,000 officers, he said the council seemed to be favoring accused criminals.

        “This is an issue of leadership, or lack thereof,” Mr. Jorg's father, Gary, said. “Several people have written letters to the mayor asking for support. He has not responded to any of them.”

        Mayor Charlie Luken did not return calls Friday. City Manager John Shirey refused comment.

        “This has been building up,” Mrs. Jorg said. “Now they're trying to take away his pay.”

        Officer Jorg has been on paid administrative leave since Nov. 7. Last week he was stripped of his police powers and on Tuesday faced a disciplinary hearing that could result in his termination.

        “I don't feel I've turned my back on the police,” Councilwoman Alicia Reece said Friday. “I will say that I think every citizen deserves to be safe.”

        In a show of solidarity, the police union set up a defense fund for officers Jorg and Caton. Union president Keith Fangman has also advised officers to think twice before making some arrests, saying they can't be sure when they will be accused of assault.

        “I think Mrs. Jorg's letter, although strongly worded, expresses a degree of frustration and anger felt by many citizens in this community,” Mr. Fangman said Friday. “I think people are getting a little sick and tired of seeing politicians show up at police officers' funerals, some of them with crocodile tears.

        “Yet when officers are involved in even the most clear-cut, justified use-of-force or shooting incidents, there is little if any support from members of council.”

Some thrive while others fail
Going once, going twice
Structure first of its kind in Ky.
Biblical group gets $1M boost
Officer's mom blasts council
RAMSEY: Farewell
Colleges valued, survey finds
I-471 connector delayed until end of Oct.
Stabbing suspect tells victim that he loves her
Ceiling no refuge for robbery suspect
Dr. King's birth, life to be celebrated in a variety of Tristate events
Good-neighbor policy at CPS
Hamilton closing fire station
HOWARD: Neighborhoods
Kentuckians heard in D.C.
Kids pick college for proud day
Leader finally takes over city empowerment zone
Legislator urges teacher bonuses
Locals aid inaugural
Man accused of hiding boy's whereabouts
MCNUTT: 15 have fallen
Mental health treatment can start in youngest years
New lot to offer 200 spaces at prime spot
School board promises, and asks for, information
Second suspect sought in dismemberment
State panel clears Erie County judge of ethics violation in 1998 campaign
State to let man challenge marijuana bill
Trenton's new manager fits right in
Tristate A.M. Report