Police1 Staff Report
(CINCINNATTI) -- The city’s police department came under fire from leaders in the black community after two minority men died in as many days in police officer incidents.
On Oct. 8 Officer Tim Pappas shot and killed Jeffery Irons after the he grabbed another officer’s gun and shot Pappas in the hand.
Irons was killed in a Pleasant Ridge yard after police chased him from a supermarket where he had allegedly attempted to steal deodorant and shaving cream.
On the night of Oct. 7 Roger Owensby was choked to death after struggling with several police officers in a Sunoco gas station in Roselawn. Police are not releasing information on why they were trying to arrest Owensby, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
A rally was held by the Rev. Damon Lynch of the Black United Front outside City Hall on Sunday. Lynch and other black leaders are calling for federal intervention over the two shootings. Lynch told the Enquirer that he believes that Owensby was stopped by police because of his skin color.
Keith Fangman, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said that he saw the officers after the struggle with Owensby and he saw that they had cuts and torn uniforms.
“And it’s unfortunate,” Fangman told the Enquirer, “that the police critics and some members of City Council have shown no concern for our officer who was shot by a violent suspect who grabbed away another officer’s gun.”