Board findings on Nathaniel Jones Police Killing rejected
Wednesday, November 17, 2004 at 03:39PM
TheSpook
Cincinnati Cops Beat Black Man to Death on Videotape. No Officers Disciplined
Just weeks away from the first anniversary of Nathaniel "Skip" Jones'
death while in Cincinnati police custody, City Manager Valerie Lemmie
is rejecting a civilian oversight board's findings and won't impose any
discipline against officers involved in the incident. The city's
Citizen Complaint Authority -- which reviews allegations of misconduct
and excessive use of force by police -- recommended in August that
three officers receive "severe disciplinary sanctions" for their roles
in Jones' death. But Lemmie, who makes the decision on discipline,
agreed with the Cincinnati Police Department's internal investigation
that officers didn't violate any policies when handling Jones. Instead,
officers should receive additional training on how to avoid positional
asphyxiation, or suffocation, with handcuffed suspects who are obese or
have certain medical conditions. "While the death of Mr. Jones is
tragic, I do not believe our officers violated CPD policy," she said.
Jones' death was the first major case reviewed by the Citizen Complaint
Authority, which was formed in early 2003 as part of a settlement of a
racial profiling lawsuit against police. An attorney
representing Jones' family in a federal lawsuit against the city noted
that police already had received a training bulletin from the chief on
positional asphyxiation before the Nov. 30, 2003, incident. Jones, who
weighed nearly 350 pounds, stopped breathing after he was handcuffed
and placed on his stomach in a parking lot after a scuffle with
officers. "How much training does it take to read a memo from the
chief?" asked attorney Kenneth Lawson. "What additional training does
Valerie think these officers need?" [more]
See Video of beating [more] (Curiously, the Police tape begins after the altercation has started)
