A Hamilton County grand jury has returned a two-count indictment against Cincinnati Police Officer Stephen Roach in the April 7 killing of an unarmed teen fleeing police. Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen, in a 6 p.m. press conference, said the grand jury returned an indictment of negligent homicide against Roach, finding his negligence caused Timothy Thomas to die. It is a misdemeanor in the first degree, punishable by up to six months in jail upon conviction. The grand jury also indicted Roach on a charge of obstruction of official business, a second-degree misdemeanor. That is punishable by up to 90 days in jail. Allen said that charge was based on conflicting statements given by Roach to homicide investigators on April 7 and April 10.
I don't know ... somehow, I just can't see people in Cincinnati feeling that a maximum nine months in jail (assuming the officer was convicted of both counts and sentenced to consecutive sentences) is quite ... enough. That it's "just", if that word means anything. The idea that, for taking someone's life, he could serve just nine months may leave a very bad taste in the city's collective mouth.
The problem is that many in the city will somehow feel that this officer -- the one who actually finally got charged with something -- should serve the sentence for all those who didn't. As the symbol for all that's wrong with Cincinnati's police, people may feel that he should serve the rest of his life in jail, that losing his career, his freedom for nearly a year, none of that will be anything like enough.
Copyright © 2001, Iain Jackson, after-words.org
[Archives: 2001 and after]
Archives before February 5, 2001
Search entries:
12/19/2001: vive la france
12/19/2001: princess, redux
12/19/2001: yemen and rumsfeld
12/18/2001: you're NOT in the army now
12/18/2001: interesting donation
12/18/2001: shame on winn dixie, indeed
12/18/2001: saudi princess
12/17/2001: new resolve
12/17/2001: a victim of the attack ... yeah, right
12/17/2001: polluters ho!