(AP) Police have filed internal charges against eight current and former Cincinnati officers stemming from the November 2000 death of a black man who died while in police custody.
City Manager Valerie Lemmie said Monday she called for hearings to determine whether any of the officers should be disciplined for the death of Roger Owensby Jr., 29. Punishment could range from no action to firing. Lemmie will make the final decision on discipline
The officers are accused of violating police department policies governing use of force and securing and handling of prisoners. The charges also include neglect of duty, dishonesty and failure of good behavior.
Owensby died after police arrested him at a gas station on Nov. 7, 2000, in order to question him about drug trafficking. The Hamilton County coroner later ruled that Owensby died from either a choke hold or the weight of officers piling on him after Owensby had tried to run.
The Justice Department said in April that it asked the FBI to investigate to determine whether Owensby died as a result of any wrongdoing. One of the officers involved, Robert Jorg, quit the department months ago to join another force. In October 2001, Jorg was acquitted of a misdemeanor assault charge, but the jury deadlocked on a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors later decided not to retry Jorg.
That trial started almost a month after a judge acquitted Officer Stephen Roach in the shooting of an unarmed black man who was running from police. The shooting touched off three days of rioting in April.
Fifteen black men and a 12-year-old boy have died in confrontations with Cincinnati police since 1995. Eleven of them threatened officers with weapons.