EVENDALE — Controversial officer Stephen Roach was pulled from street patrols and placed on administrative duties Wednesday until he can clear his name.

        If he can't, he will be fired.

Foust

        In a surprise news conference, Police Chief Gary Foust said Officer Roach has until Jan. 20, 2003 — a year to the day he started on Evendale's payroll — to refute a critical Cincinnati police internal affairs report.

        On March 19, Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher told council members Officer Roach violated police policies in last April's fatal shooting of Timothy Thomas, a fleeing, unarmed black man, then lied to investigators. The shooting sparked Cincinnati's riots.

        The Cincinnati police report prevents Evendale from giving Officer Roach a satisfactory performance evaluation at the end of his probationary period, Chief Foust said.

        Officer Roach, who earns $45,500 annually, remains on the payroll.

        Cincinnati's report “attacks Stephen Roach's integrity, credibility and character,” Chief Foust said. “These attributes are essential in the performance, trust and service to the community. They have been impaired by this report.”

Roach

        Chief Foust did not take questions after reading his two-page statement. He did not discuss the process Officer Roach must follow to refute the claims.

        Other police officials refused to say what specific job Officer Roach will be doing.

        The 27-year-old officer was working at Evendale's Reading Road police station Wednesday night. He told an Enquirer reporter his lawyer advised him to withhold comment. Merlyn Shiverdecker, Officer Roach's attorney, did not return calls.

        Wednesday's report follows the Cincinnati internal affairs report that says Officer Roach violated policies by running with his finger on the trigger of his gun, then lying to investigators.

        In January, Officer Roach was hired in Evendale and quit the Cincinnati force. Chief Streicher has stopped short of saying Officer Roach would have been fired, saying that would have been up to the city manager. But the chief did say in a memo that dishonesty would not be tolerated and police employees who lie will be recommended for dismissal.

        After the report was released, Chief Foust, Mayor Douglas Lohmeier and the rank-and-file Evendale officers backed Officer Roach. They said the internal report didn't provide any information they didn't already discover during their background check of Officer Roach.

        Judge Ralph E. Winkler acquitted him of all charges from the shooting.

        But Council Member Phil Schneider asked Mayor Lohmeier for a special council session last week to discuss the report.

        Mr. Schneider said he had new concerns after reading it, particularly that the report said Officer Roach first claimed he shot Mr. Thomas because he thought he was threatening him with a weapon. Then, after being confronted with a videotape that showed the shooting could not have unfolded as Officer Roach initially said, he told investigators he accidentally shot Mr. Thomas.

        On Wednesday, Chief Foust said Evendale officials examined Officer Roach's performance ratings in Cincinnati, spoke with his former immediate supervisor and checked with personal references and past employers. They found nothing that revealed character flaws or that he wasn't honest or credible, the chief said.

        “The report is selective in content, and did not disclose all facts presented in the interviews, criminal trial and expert testimony upon which Judge Winkler rendered his verdict,” Chief Foust said.

        Evendale's village solicitor has instructed council members and the mayor not to comment on Officer Roach's reassignment.

        Critics of Officer Roach's hiring in Evendale praised the move, but said it should have happened sooner.

        “That's a step in the right direction but we're sorry everything has taken this long,” said Dr. Randy Cox, an organizer of opponents to the Roach hiring. “A lot of us had to exert a lot of energy. A lot of our families have been attacked and that's been unnecessary.”

        The opponents have filed enough signatures to hold a referendum to overturn the hiring. Village officials, however, will not put one on November's ballot because they have two legal opinions saying it would be illegal to hold a public vote on administrative matters such as hirings.

        Opponents still plan to fight for a referendum.

        “We will do whatever we need to to get Officer Roach off our force,” Dr. Cox said.

        Evendale residents who support Officer Roach lashed out at Cincinnati officials, saying Chief Streicher used Officer Roach as a scapegoat.

        “All he did was throw a big log on the fire in Evendale,” said Leon Howell. He had greeted Officer Roach at village hall the first day he reported for work with a sign saying, “Welcome to Evendale, Officer Roach.”

        Added Keith Fangman, vice president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police: “This entire episode has been a tragedy for everyone involved — Steve Roach, Timothy Thomas and his family, the Cincinnati Police Department and the community. Steve has already paid a very high price for what occurred here.”

        Enquirer reporter Jane Prendergast contributed to this report.
       

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