Cincinnati police supervisors knew in three seconds that Officer Stephen Roach lied about what happened when he shot Timothy Thomas in an Over-the-Rhine alley.

Angela Leisure, Timothy Thomas' mother, listens to Chief Tom Streicher's report with her attorney, Ken Lawson. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        The internal investigation, released Tuesday, explained the department doesn't think there's any way Officer Roach could have repeatedly ordered Mr. Thomas to show his hands and perceived that he was coming at him with a weapon.

        All of that couldn't have happened in the three seconds, captured on a cruiser videotape, between when the officer started down the dark alley April 7 and when he fired the fatal shot.

        That's how homicide detectives first knew Officer Roach was not telling the truth, Chief Tom Streicher said. Showing Officer Roach the tape was how they prompted a change in his story.

        The 46-page investigation concluded that Officer Roach, who quit in January and now patrols Evendale, violated department policy in two ways:

        • Having his finger on the trigger as he ran with the gun.

        • Deceiving his colleagues by first saying he perceived Mr. Thomas was a threat, then three days later saying he shot because he was “spooked.”

        Officer Roach would be subject to discipline, the chief said, if he still worked for Cincinnati Police. Though he declined to say what that discipline might be, the chief also released Tuesday a full-page reiteration of the department's policy against dishonesty.

        Anyone who violates that policy, it says, can expect the chief to recommend termination.

        The report included photographs and a map of the Republic Street scene, crime lab reports and a photograph of Officer Roach's gun.

        It also detailed Officer Roach's acquittal in Hamilton County Municipal Court and concluded that investigators could have no finding on the shooting itself because of his acquittal.

        The investigation — which activists clamored for in hopes Officer Roach would be disciplined — revealed little that did not already come out during the officer's September trial on negligent homicide and obstruction of justice charges. He was acquitted in the bench trial.

        But it added more details, including:

        • After seeing the videotape, Officer Roach asked to confer with Fraternal Order of Police attorney Steve Lazarus, who was with him. They took an hour break from 8 to 9 p.m. April 10, when Officer Roach said the videotape reminded him of some things he “previously did not recall.”

        • That Officer Christopher Schroder, a friend of Officer Roach's who was walking behind him in the alley, said in his first interview that he heard Officer Roach yell something, but that it was all a blur. Later, he said he remembered Officer Roach saying of his gun: “It just went off.”

        Officer Robert Kidd and Capt. Paul Humphries reported hearing Officer Roach make similar statements.

        Officer Roach explained the two different versions of his statement by saying it was a complete shock to him when it happened and that he was scared.

        “Um, I was scared when the trigger went off or the gun went off,” he said.

        “And, uh, I'd say for a good amount of time. I don't remember what happened. And I went over and over and over and over again. Replayed it time and time again in my head. That's what my head was telling me happened.”

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