Jurors today will begin the case against a Cincinnati police officer by visiting the scene where a man died in custody last year.

        Eight people, chosen from 34 potential jurors, will hear the misdemeanor case in Hamilton County Municipal Court against Officer Patrick Caton, who is charged with assault in the Nov. 7 death of Roger Owensby Jr.

Officer Patrick Caton sits during jury selection in Hamilton County Municipal Court on Wednesday. (Enquirer photo) | ZOOM |

        Lawyers questioned potential jurors for about three hours Wednesday before seating a jury.

        Officer Caton's lawyer, Merlyn Shiverdecker, emphasized during the jury questioning that his client is not charged with the man's death. That issue, he said repeatedly, is being debated simultaneously in another courtroom, where Officer Robert “Blaine” Jorg is being tried on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, a felony.

        He also asked jurors if they could separate their decision on a verdict from the prospect of potential effects the verdict might bring, such as causing unrest in the city.

        That, he said, “should certainly not be a factor in this case.”

        Mr. Owensby, 29, was found unconscious in the back of a police cruiser after several officers wrestled him to the ground while trying to arrest him. He ran from other officers weeks earlier when investigators were watching the area for drug trafficking.

        A medical examiner determined the cause of death was mechanical asphyxia.

        Prosecutor Ernie McAdams focused on whether the potential jurors could be fair and impartial, if they thought police officers are more believable than civilian witnesses, and if they would be bothered by the fact that Mr. Owensby was involved in drug activity.

        The jurors — mostly female, with two minorities and a third among the three alternates — will board a bus this morning to go to the Sunoco station at Seymour Avenue and Langdon Farm Road in Roselawn. They'll then hear the prosecutor and defense attorney give opening statements.

        The trial could last about three weeks.

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