Citizens criticize police response, protest shooting of unarmed man

CINCINNATI - Ayanna Greer said she watched from her home as police officers used their shields to push out of the street a man who seemingly offered no resistance.

Greer's home is in the area blanketed by Cincinnati police during disturbances Tuesday over the weekend police shooting of an unarmed black man. The 26-year-old black woman, a teacher aide at Washington Park Elementary School, said she worries about the future for her 5-year-old son, a student at Sands Montessori School, in a city where police have killed 15 black men since 1995, including four since November.

"I want a change. I don't want to lose my son in the streets," Greer said, puffing on a cigarette as she surveyed the street from her front door. "I don't want anyone else killed - black or white."

Police said they have showed, if anything, restraint as property damage and assaults increased during the protests. Mayor Charles Luken and city council member Jim Tarbell acknowledged yesterday that they heard complaints about rough treatment at the hands of police, but they praised police for handling a volatile situation professionally.

Critics said police came down too hard on protesters, readily firing bean bags and tear gas and shoving citizens before rows of shield-wielding officers.

"They're out of control," the Rev. William Land, pastor of La Amistad United Church of Christ, said after watching dozens of officers flush protesters from a park across the street from Music Hall, home of the Cincinnati Symphony. The Over-the-Rhine park was at the center of an area where protesters rampaged after the police shooting of Timothy Thomas, 19.

James Owens, 50, a Salvation Army truck driver, shook his head as he watched helmeted police officers confront youths down one street.

"The police control this city. It's a police city," Owens said.

Owens said he is concerned that a police crackdown could encourage resentful young blacks to resist.

"They don't fear anything. They're not afraid to confront them," Owens said.