BY TERRY KINNEY, The Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Officers appear to have followed procedures when clubbing a 350-pound man who died after wrestling with six officers trying to subdue him, although an investigation will determine whether they used excessive force, the police chief said Tuesday.
“I don’t think you can have a final judgment at this point,” Chief Thomas Streicher told NBC’s “Today.”
“Up to this point, it appears every single procedure was followed.”
A civilian watchdog panel born from riots that followed the shooting of an unarmed black man in 2001 is looking into the death of Nathaniel Jones, who also is black.
Police have the right to defend themselves against perceived danger and use force to overcome resistance to an arrest, Streicher said.
“That’s the ultimate measure and standard for us in making those determinations,” he said.
Jones, 41, committed a felony once he struck an officer, and the officers had to try to arrest him, Streicher said.
Jones died at a hospital shortly after being taken into custody Sunday. He was struck repeatedly with metal nightsticks in a confrontation captured by police cruiser video camera.
The cause of Jones’ death was under investigation. Preliminary autopsy results showed he had an enlarged heart, and his blood contained cocaine and PCP, or “angel dust,” both of which can cause erratic behavior.
The Citizen Complaint Authority, created after the 2001 riots, was already looking into the death, with investigators going to the parking lot of a fast food restaurant where the beating took place hours later, panel chairwoman Nancy Minson said.
She said the complaint board began its investigation on its own, which it can do when a death involves police or when shots are fired.
“We turn to you for a full and fair and thorough investigation,” Mayor Charlie Luken told members Monday night.
Monday night’s regular meeting of the panel was disrupted by four activists who demanded quick action.
“It’s apparent that you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing and what your authority is,” said Nate Livingston Jr., a member of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati, which promotes a boycott of the city.
“When they start fighting in the streets, you’ll say, ‘Why didn’t you do it the right way? Why didn’t you come to City Hall? Why didn’t you trust us? Why didn’t you talk to us?”
Minson called police to escort Livingston and three others from the room when they continued to shout at the panel.
Jones’ death raised new allegations of police brutality, just as the city was starting to recover from the effects of the April 2001 riots and the boycott that followed.
Justice Department spokesman Jorge Martinez said information was being gathered to determine if federal action was warranted.
After seeing the video, Luken rejected activists’ demand that he force Streicher to resign.
Fire emergency personnel responded early Sunday to a report of a man passed out on the grass outside a fast-food restaurant. They told a dispatcher that the man was awake and “becoming a nuisance,” and police were sent, according to police radio transmissions.
The first two officers to arrive, Baron Osterman and James Pike, were shown on videotape striking Jones after he ignored orders to “stay back,” took a swing at an officer and put his arm around an officer’s neck.
The officers knocked Jones to the ground and fell on him, and jabbed or struck him with nightsticks at least a dozen times. They kept yelling, “Put your hands behind your back!” as they struggled to handcuff him.
Additional police were dispatched. All six officers who responded _ five whites and one black _ were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
The 2001 riots stemmed from the shooting of Timothy Thomas, 19, who was wanted on several misdemeanor charges and fled from police when they tried to arrest him. Officer Stephen Roach shot him in a dark alley and was later cleared at trial of criminal charges.
A federal investigation of the shooting, requested by the city, resulted in an agreement to tighten policies on use of force and improve handling of citizen complaints.
In February, a white officer chased and fatally shot a black man who was seen running from a store that had been broken into. Police, prosecutors and the Citizen Complaint Authority concluded the shooting was justified because the suspect was beating the officer with his nightstick.
On Monday, the Cincinnati chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called for further changes in police use of force.
“If proper procedure means that you can use that kind of force to clobber people repeatedly who are clearly disarmed, then there’s something wrong with the policy,” said Calvert Smith, chapter president.