Reply #20: I live here in Cincy and this does not pass the smell test.

[1songbird]

The Cincinnati police have killed so many black men over the past 10 years that this is no longer shocking. There are some serious questions that must be asked. One of the problems that I have with this story is that locally there has been absolutely no mention of what drugs if any were in the victim's system. Infact they have not finished the toxicology report. I find it interesting that CNN and other sources are reporting that he had coke and PCP in his system. This was not in the coroner's initial report. If he did I suspect that this would have been broadcast repeatedly locally. Hmmmmm.

Secondly the initial call was made to 911 because of a medical issue when the gentleman passed out. Medical help arrived and during the process the suspect must have become unruly and the police was called. Police agree that the officers used permittable force and did not violate the rules, however an ex-police chief says that it is a moral question and some responsibility falls on the officers. In this city police are more likely to use deadly force with African Americans and there needs to be something done to address this.

We know that the victim suffered from occasional blackouts according to family members that have called the local radio station. He also had high blood pressure and heart problems. To me this is a case where once again the dispatcher and the police were not in sync. When Timothy Thomas was killed by officer Steven Roach, we had a situation where the information about the suspects record was not given or was inaccurate. I think if the officer had known that Timothy had misdemeanor traffic warrants only he would not have been shot. I think there is a similar situation brewing here. The police procedure has to be reviewed.