By Terry Kinney, The Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A crowd of 300 residents questioned city officials about police use of force after a coroner determined a black man’s death was caused mainly by his struggle with police officers.
Activists say the death of 41-year-old Nathaniel Jones was another example of brutality by Cincinnati police against blacks in a city that was rocked by race riots two years ago after a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black suspect.
Some cried Wednesday night as they watched a videotape of the confrontation Sunday between Jones and six officers. Video shot from a police cruiser showed Jones swinging at an officer, and officers hitting him repeatedly with nightsticks.
Roy Jones, 31, said he was concerned that the investigation would find “police followed procedures.”
“That always seems to be the outcome of these investigations,” he said at a forum sponsored by the city’s Human Relations Commission. “I think that shows that the procedures need to be reviewed.”
Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. and City Manager Valerie Lemmie said several investigations were under way and police procedures would be reviewed.
Streicher has said the videotape showed that police officers observed department guidelines.
Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott said Wednesday that the death would be ruled a homicide, but that such a ruling “should not be interpreted as implying inappropriate behavior or the use of excessive force by police.”
He said the autopsy found Jones suffered from an enlarged heart, obesity and had intoxicating levels of cocaine, PCP and methanol in his blood. Jones’ body had bruising on the lower half, but did not show signs of blows to the head or organ damage, he said.
The coroner said he had to rule the death a homicide because it didn’t fall under other categories of a death in Ohio: accident, suicide or natural. Jones’ death certificate will list a cause of death as an irregular heart beat because of a stress reaction from the violent struggle, Parrott said.
The family’s attorney, Ken Lawson, said Jones’ body was being taken to Indianapolis for an independent autopsy. He said the family had not decided if it would file a wrongful death lawsuit against the city but felt that an independent investigation was needed.
The struggle occurred early Sunday after a fast-food restaurant employee called emergency services to report that a man had passed out on the lawn. Fire emergency personnel arrived and reported that the man was awake and “becoming a nuisance,” according to police radio transmissions.
The first two arriving officers were shown on the police video striking Jones, who weighed nearly 160 kilograms (350 pounds), after he ignored orders to “stay back,” took a swing at an officer and put his arm around another officer’s neck.
The officers later knocked Jones to the ground, and jabbed or hit him with nightsticks at least a dozen times.
Streicher told the City Council he has invited the Justice Department and the FBI to review Jones’ death. The Justice Department said this week it had begun gathering information to determine whether an investigation was warranted.