An internal affairs report into the police shooting that sparked last April's riots concluded that Officer Stephen Roach violated police policy on the use of his weapon and that he lied to investigators about the shooting.

        Because Officer Roach was acquitted in court and has left the Cincinnati Police Department for suburban Evendale, the report's conclusions have no weight.

Police Chief Tom Streicher points out inconsistencies in statements given by Officer Stephen Roach as transcripts of the statements are projected behind him. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Nonetheless, Police Chief Tom Streicher Jr. issued a memo to all police officers Tuesday saying, “Dishonesty cannot and will not be tolerated in our organization,” and that police officers who lie to investigators can expect to be terminated.

        Chief Streicher told City Council members Tuesday that Officer Roach violated policy by running with his finger on the trigger of his handgun and by giving conflicting accounts of the shooting to investigators that day and three days later.

        At first, Officer Roach said he shot Timothy Thomas, the 19-year-old African-American man he had confronted in a dark alley, because he thought he had a gun. He later said he shot him accidentally because he was startled.

        Chief Streicher stopped short of saying whether he would have fired Officer Roach for lying to investigators. That's the city manager's call, he said. Officer Roach would have been entitled to a disciplinary hearing.

        The release of the report comes just three weeks before the first anniversary of the shooting and the riots that followed. That timing is intentional, city officials acknowledged, and is the first step in a series of events that will precede likely protests next month.

        The city is also nearing an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department on the police use of force and a parallel settlement of a federal lawsuit alleging racial profiling.

        The release of the Roach report at the Law and Public Safety Committee was a surprise to most council members, who found out about it only hours beforehand. The committee was scheduled to hear from the police chief on the timeline of investigations into police-involved deaths.

        The chief said investigations into the November 2000 death of Roger Owensby Jr. — scheduled for release this month — could take another 30 to 60 days.

        Mayor Charlie Luken, who was out of town Tuesday, said that's not soon enough, given that Robert “Blaine” Jorg — one of the officers in the Owensby case — has, like Officer Roach, been hired by a suburban police department.

        “I think the public is suspicious that there's a game going on here, and I can't do anything about that. But I can insist that if officers are deceptive about the use of force, they will be disciplined and probably fired.”

        But the three-hour hearing Tuesday at the Law and Public Safety Committee also reopened some of the more controversial aspects of the fatal shooting of Mr. Thomas in Over-the-Rhine on April 7, 2001 — including this statement from Councilman Jim Tarbell:

        “Steve Roach is — and was — a scapegoat for a series of desperate conditions we need to address.”

        The Rev. Damon Lynch III sat in the back of the council chambers during the hearing.

        “This is not an investigation. It's a rehash of the trial,” said the Rev. Mr. Lynch, leader of the Cincinnati Black United Front. The front and other groups have urged a boycott of the city, largely because of police discipline issues.

        “Somebody needs to be held accountable. If not these three officers, then you have to look at the chief,” he said. “It has just been a travesty of justice. It happened that night. It happened in the courtroom and it is still happening.”

        Two hours before releasing the report to City Council, Chief Streicher outlined its highlights to Mr. Thomas' mother, Angela Leisure.

        She sat quietly at the committee meeting, hand over her face, shaking her head. She left council chambers as city officials posed questions to the chief.

        “I'm not mentally able to make any statements right now,” Mrs. Leisure said.

        Attorney Ken Lawson, who's representing Mrs. Leisure in a wrongful death lawsuit against Officer Roach and the city, said the only thing new he learned was that Officer Roach expected Mr. Thomas to come out of the other side of the alley — which may contradict the officer's testimony that he was startled by Mr. Thomas.

        “I'm just wondering, how could he be surprised?” Mr. Lawson said.

        As he spoke, Mr. Tarbell — one of only two incumbents endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police last year — got into a testy exchange with the police chief.

        “Stephen Roach is a Cincinnati police officer with an unblemished record,” he said.

        “I disagree with you,” the chief interrupted.

        “Then can you help me?” Mr. Tarbell said.

        Chief Streicher pointed to the 46-page internal investigation. “It's right here,” he said.

        Mr. Tarbell said more important factors led to the shooting: the decision to start a foot chase at 2:30 a.m. in Over-the-Rhine; the lack of a police supervisor on the scene; “faulty” or “incomplete” information on what Mr. Thomas was wanted for (it turned out to be 14 traffic and misdemeanor warrants); and the dark, dangerous environment.

        As the council hearing entered its third hour Tuesday, Chief Streicher became remarkably candid in response to council members' questions.

        On the dark alley: “This could have very easily have been turned around. You could go down that alley, and Timothy Thomas is not some young, scared kid, but a really bad guy with an automatic weapon, and he's waiting for you to come down that alley so he can turn you into Swiss cheese.”

        On foot chases: “I'll be honest with you. Cops like a good foot pursuit. It's fun. It gets the adrenaline going. Catch the bad guy. The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. It becomes, sometimes, a game of cat-and-mouse,” he said. “Chasing somebody is not this giant dilemma for us in policing.”

        On releasing information: “The most critical error that occurred (last April) is the police department did not address that issue for more than 48 hours. I think that complicated the situation, and led to rumors. ... Yes, I think someone should have held a press conference soon afterward and told everybody what we knew. That was a critical, critical error. I can tell you it won't ever happen again.”

        Based on testimony from fellow police officers, a cruiser-mounted video of the shooting and conflicting statements from Officer Roach, prosecutors indicted Officer Roach on charges of negligent homicide and obstruction last May.

        Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Ralph E. “Ted” Winkler, who acquitted Officer Roach after a trial last September, said the internal affairs investigation did not necessarily contradict his verdict.

        “I'm going to have a hard time disagreeing with what they found because everyone uses different standards and different measures and heard different things than what I heard at trial,” said the judge when reached by phone from an out-of-state judicial conference.

        “Roach never denied that he fired the shot that killed Timothy Thomas. He just varied on how it went down,” the judge said. “I don't think he was being purposefully dishonest.”

        In Over-the-Rhine on Tuesday, some residents expressed surprise that police would acknowledge Officer Roach was deceptive in his account of the shooting.

        Some remain suspicious of police, but many also said they understand the police have a difficult job to do, and that in some corners police/community relations are improving.

        “Anytime I call police, they're here in a minute, just like that,” said James Stanford, 48, who is rehabbing a Vine Street building once plagued by criminal activity.

        But Jay Johnson, 22, was more skeptical. “I figure they'll blow it up (publicity) but also cover their (butt). They'll just let the situation die down.”

        Enquirer reporters Jane Prendergast, Marie McCain, Kevin Aldridge and Tom O'Neill contributed to this report.

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