White Officer Charged With Misdemeanor In Shooting Of Cincinnati Teen; Justice Department Conducts Probe

Jet, May 28, 2001

Two misdemeanor charges were recently filed against the White Cincinnati police officer who shot and killed an unarmed Black man he pursued. The shooting (JET, April 30) sparked three days of rioting, which resulted in 800 people arrested and dozens injured.

Officer Stephen Roach, 27, was charged with negligent homicide and obstruction of official business in the death of Timothy Thomas. Roach faces a possible term of nine months in prison if convicted on those charges.

National NAACP president Kweisi Mfume called the situation in Cincinnati "very tense" and described the city as "ground zero for race relations in our nation."

Meanwhile, the charges against Roach drew criticism from Thomas' mother, Angela Leisure.

"I feel like it was a slap on the wrist," she said. "I don't feel like justice was served. I feel it was not severe enough for the severity of what he did." She added: "My feelings are borderline rage."

However, Hamilton County prosecutor Michael Allen urged people to wait until all information concerning the case has been made clear. "For those who say the charges are too light and for those who say the charges are too severe, my response is the same: Please withhold your judgment until you know all the facts," he said.

Thomas, 19, who was sought for 14 outstanding warrants, most of which were misdemeanors, was the fifth Black man killed in confrontation with Cincinnati police since November. In all, Cincinnati police officers have killed 15 Black men since 1995.

Recently the Bush administration announced that it opened its own civil rights investigation of the Cincinnati Police Department, with Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft vowing to review the department's "policies and practices."

"Our focus will be on assisting the city to solve its problems and rebuild trust among the citizens of Cincinnati," Ashcroft said. "Trust is necessary for any police department to effectively protect citizens."