The Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) - Police acted within department policy last year in using nightsticks to subdue a black man who scuffled with officers before dying at the scene minutes later, the city manager says.
City Manager Valerie Lemmie said police had discretion to defend themselves and fight back against Nathaniel Jones after he lunged at an officer. Her conclusion means the city will not discipline police.
Lemmie’s finding contrasts that of a citizens’ review board, which said officers used excessive force against Nathaniel Jones and should be disciplined. The Citizen Complaint Authority reviews allegations of misconduct and excessive use of force by police.
Lemmie, who sent her conclusion to City Council on Wednesday, will have no further comment because Jones’ family has a lawsuit pending against the city, spokeswoman Meg Olberding said Friday.
The lawyer for Jones’ family said Lemmie should have ordered that the police be disciplined.
“For her to ignore the need for discipline shows she’s trying to protect the city’s coffers from damages at the expense of truth,” lawyer Kenneth Lawson said.
Police have responded to Jones’ death by expanding use of less-than-lethal force - including Taser stun guns - and improving training for officers in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Lemmie wrote.
Lemmie’s review is the latest in a series of examinations of the videotaped fight between police and Jones, 41, in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant Nov. 30, 2003. The Hamilton County prosecutor concluded in March that the officers had been within their right to defend themselves and committed no crimes.
The county coroner ruled that Jones, who weighed nearly 350 pounds, died of suffocation but noted that an enlarged heart, obesity and drug use contributed to his death. An autopsy showed he had intoxicating levels of cocaine, PCP and alcohol in his blood.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Cincinnati chapter did its own review and said in April that the officers who struck Jones with metal batons and then made him lie on his stomach while handcuffed were responsible for his death. The NAACP said police could have backed off and let Jones calm down rather than engage him.
The NAACP also said Jones bore responsibility for the actions that led to his arrest because he had taken drugs that can produce aggressive behavior.
Jones was at least the 19th black man to die in violent confrontations with Cincinnati police since 1995.