After all the protests and petitions, all the anger and the anguish, it comes down to this: Officer Stephen Roach made a terrible mistake on April 7 when he shot Timothy Thomas in a dark alley.

        He violated procedure by putting his finger on the trigger, and his gun went off when he nearly collided with the fleeing suspect.

        But his biggest mistake was lying about it.

        The report by Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher Tuesday shows that Officer Roach misled investigators by claiming he shot Mr. Thomas in self-defense.

        Anyone who has defended Officer Roach needs to stop and think about that. I did. I was wrong.

        After reading the report and discussing it with Chief Streicher, I think Officer Roach's bogus story prolonged the official silence at a critical time, and the vacuum was filled with explosive fumes of speculation.

        On April 9, two days after the shooting, protesters led by the Rev. Damon Lynch III and the victim's mother, Angela Leisure, demanded answers at a council meeting.

Unable to talk

        But Chief Streicher could not explain. If Officer Roach found out the chief suspected his story was untrue, “He would have taken the Fifth,” the chief said.

        What the chief couldn't say was that investigators already had evidence that showed the cop was dishonest. A video camera in a cruiser rushing to the scene picked up the foot chase by pure chance. It showed that Officer Roach had no time to confront Mr. Thomas before shooting, as he claimed.

        On April 10, during an interview with investigators, Officer Roach stuck to his story. Then he was shown the tape. He took a time-out with his lawyer and came back with a new version: accidental shooting.

        That fits his statement at the scene: “It just went off.”

        Officer Roach withheld the truth while the city was torn apart by riots. Without the tape, we might never know what happened.

What if?

        If he had been honest, the chief could have explained the shooting clearly and maybe the protest would have stopped there.

        There's plenty of blame to go around. Timothy Thomas made the first mistake by running from the cops. And after the shooting, the police failed to issue a statement for days.

        “The most crucial error we made was not to put anything out,” said the chief, who was at a Chicago conference on racial profiling that weekend.

        His one-page statement yesterday ends with a scorching attack, aimed at Officer Roach:

        “Dishonesty tears at the very fabric of our society, erodes public confidence in our Police Department and casts a shadow of suspicion upon our individual officers. Dishonesty cannot and will not be tolerated in our organization.”

        It's clear that the chief would fire Officer Roach if he could. But Evendale made the mistake of rushing to hire him as a cop before the investigation was finished.

        This report may not change the minds of people who call the cop a murderer.

        But it changed my mind. He's no victim. The city is the victim of his lies.

        E-mail Peter Bronson at pbronson@enquirer.com or call 768-8301.

Police inquiry scorches Roach
Video showed officer lied
Chief supported Roach early
Different statements key in investigation
Evendale leaders shrug at report
Racial, police, legal issues converge as anniversary nears
Streicher's statement
Timeline of Roach-Thomas case
Graham refuses to halt mission
Hispanic tastes feed businesses
Anti-boycotters meet, brainstorm
Anti-lead paint campaign readied
Cranley chooses UC legal faculty
High-school critics assess diverse musicals
Hike/bike trail raises concerns
Kids' weight, heart risk tied
Lodging tax debate starts anew
Negotiators hope to reach agreement today
Tristate A.M. Report
Two shot dead, one stabbed
BRONSON: Roach report
HOWARD: Some Good News
SAMPLES: Not-so-big news
SMITH AMOS: Praying for change
Attorney accused of sexual assault
Forum tackles Liberty growth
Hospital president criticizes leaders
Principal, board mum on departure
Run benefits ill Oxford girl
Puck kills fan during NHL game
Defendants in pilot's killing face separate trials
Kenton County schools seek workers at job fair
Kentucky fears more flooding
Priest cases upset faithful
Tax reform goal of baby steps