Jahcol Lowry, 7, was hit by police beanbags at Liberty and Elm Streets. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        Federal authorities will not prosecute six Cincinnati police officers and a state trooper who fired nonlethal weapons at a crowd of peaceful protesters in April.

        The decision came Wednesday after a six-month investigation into the shooting, which followed several days of unrest and rioting in Cincinnati.

        Despite the decision to drop the case, a U.S. Department of Justice official said the shooting demonstrates the need to improve Cincinnati's use-of-force training.

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        The official also said the city should consider disciplining the officers involved.

        “We have urged, and will continue to urge, the Cincinnati Police Division to review this case and ... consider the appropriate discipline,” the official told The Cincinnati Enquirer on Wednesday. “As this incident demonstrates, there is a real need for reform.”

        U.S. Attorney Gregory Lockhart said federal prosecutors would not win the case because they could not prove the officers “knowingly and specifically intended to use more force than was necessary.”

Loria Artis (center) is calmed by Mary Price and city Councilman Jim Tarbell the afternoon of April 14. She was in a crowd when police began firing beanbags. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        The shooting occurred April 14 when six of Cincinnati's elite officers shot nonlethal projectiles into a crowd of protesters. The projectiles, dubbed “beanbags,” are tightly packed bags of metal pellets.

        The incident occurred after the crowd left the funeral of 19-year-old Timothy Thomas, whose shooting death on April 7 sparked the city's worst riots in 30 years.

        Mr. Thomas, who was unarmed, was shot by a police officer during a chase through Over-the-Rhine as he fled police.

        Several witnesses to the beanbag shooting said police officers jumped out of a car and began firing. Two children and a Louisville woman were struck by the beanbags.

        “It was a drive-by shooting,” said Christine Jones, who suffered a fractured rib and bruised lung after she was struck twice. “We weren't doing anything. We were just standing there.”

        Ms. Jones said she was “devastated” to learn that federal prosecutors dropped the case.

        “It absolutely blows me away,” she said. “Cincinnati is becoming the Birmingham of the 21st century.”

        The Rev. Damon Lynch III, head of Cincinnati's Black United Front, said the decision contradicts recent recommendations from the Justice Department about reforming the city's police division.

        Those recommendations were part of a 23-page report that found problems with the way police use force, handle citizen complaints and train officers.

        “This was a test case for their own 23-page report,” the Rev. Mr. Lynch said. “I'd have to say they failed.”

        Ralph Boyd, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said the decision not to prosecute was not an easy one.

        “We want to reassure the citizens of Cincinnati that the Department of Justice is committed to, and actively engaged in, working to improve the policies and practices of the Cincinnati Police Division,” he said.

        The 23-page report was a preliminary finding of the Justice Department's six-month investigation into the “patterns and practices” of the police division.

        Police Chief Tom Streicher said he has gotten no instruction from the Department of Justice about the beanbag case.

        “This is the first I've heard of it,” he said.

        Now that the federal investigation is complete, Chief Streicher said, the department's own review can proceed. He could not estimate how long that might take.

        The six officers involved will remain on active duty during the internal investigation, Chief Streicher said.

        The Cincinnati officers are: Spc. Todd Bruner, 31; Sgt. Eric Hall, 41; John Mercado, 34; Tim Pappas, 34; Sgt. Arthur Schultz, 37; and Jennifer Ventre, 34. The Ohio state trooper is Bradley Bishop.
       

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