Saturday, November 03, 2001
Reaction is mix of relief, outrage
Some cite support for police in Caton verdict
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Reactions ranged from relief in the courtroom to outrage outside the Hamilton County Courthouse Friday, after a jury cleared Cincinnati police Officer Patrick Caton of wrongdoing in the death of Roger Owensby Jr.
Officer Caton's attorney praised the jury's decision as appropriate, while some community activists described the verdict as shocking.
Mr. Owensby's parents rushed out of the courtroom without comment. It was the second time in three days they came away disappointed by a jury's verdict in their son's death while in police custody.
On Tuesday, a different Hamilton County jury acquitted Officer Robert Jorg of assault but disagreed on a felony manslaughter charge, causing a mistrial.
Pete Witte, owner of a small business in Price Hill and president of that neighborhood's community council, said that while he can't judge the justice or injustice of the Caton verdict, he does believe support for police in Cincinnati is growing.
“I know that when Chief (Thomas) Streicher shows up at an Elder football game, a town meeting in Westwood or any event on the west side, he gets a lot warmer reception than the politicians do,” Mr. Witte said Friday.
“I think as you see these police officers being acquitted in these cases, it feeds into the idea that these are just guys who are doing their jobs,” Mr. Witte said. “Most people are going to support the police, most of the time.”
But Norma Holt Davis, president of the Cincinnati branch of the NAACP, echoed other community leaders who said the verdicts reopened wounds from the April riots following the shooting of Timothy Thomas.
“The two verdicts reinforce our community's belief that police will not be punished in state court for wrongfully taking the lives of African-American males,” Ms. Holt Davis said.
Similar sentiments were heard Friday night on the streets of Over-the-Rhine, which bore the brunt of April's riots.
“The verdict was predictable, because a hero can never be found guilty in America, and police are seen as heroes, super citizens,” said Douglas Springs, 51, of Mount Auburn.
“Because of that, they can do no wrong in the black community. They have never been convicted.”
David Roe, 24, said: “I feel like all of the police are getting off. All of them.”
Added 16-year-old Eugene Thomas, an African-American youth: “If that was one of us on the street and we did that, then we would get convicted.”
The three police officers in the two cases are white; the two men who died in custody are black.
Officer Caton's lawyer, Merlyn Shiverdecker, said the trial was fair and the jury reached the appropriate verdict, given the standard of reasonable doubt.
“The case was fully and openly tried,” Mr. Shiverdecker said. “The case lent itself for reasonable doubt.”
City Councilman Pat DeWine said, “The only thing you can do in these situations is trust the process.”
Vice Mayor Minette Cooper said she was “surprised and kind of shocked and very curious. I want more information.”
Members of Cincinnati's clergy also expressed differing reactions.
“The verdict is not a surprise, but it still angers people,” said the Rev. Steven Scott, of the Coalition for Justice and Equality and First Recovery Christian Fellowship Church.
“I didn't expect to see any great outpouring of emotion or rioting because everybody knew what the verdict was going to be even before the trial,” he said.
“Some people are ready to take things into their own hands (because) there is never any guilt found with our police, and this allows them to parade around the idea that you can do whatever it is you want and get away with it.”
The Rev. Aaron Greenlea, of the Cincinnati Baptist Ministers Conference and pastor of Olivet Baptist, urged people to remember the death and the community's needs.
“I'm sure this has been a tough ordeal for the Owensby family and the officer involved,” he said.
“But we have to fall back on the fact we are a nation of laws and we have to abide by those laws. We went through the system. He was tried by a jury of his peers and found not guilty.”
Enquirer reporters Dan Horn, Kevin Aldridge, Susan Vela and Robert Anglen contributed to this story.
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