Police kill robbery suspect
Brothers, Perry.Cincinnati Enquirer; Cincinnati, Ohio [Cincinnati, Ohio]15 Mar 2000: A.1.
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Abstract
In addition to several misdemeanors, he had been arrested for 18 felonies and convicted of five. Since 1992, the 23-year-old has been arrested on at least 26 charges including misdemeanor drug abuse, carrying a concealed weapon and felonious assault.
Full Text
Officers say man pointed gun at them
By PERRY BROTHERS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A Bond Hill man was shot and killed by Cincinnati police early Tuesday after authorities say he pointed a handgun at officers trying to arrest him for a robbery moments earlier in an Avondale apartment building.
Three police officers fired 26 bullets at Alfred Lamont Pope, 23, about 3:30 a.m. outside 3362 Reading Road. At least 10 of the bullets struck Mr. Pope, according to the Hamilton County coroner.
Police were searching late Tuesday for Tarrell L. Gross, 20, who they think was with Mr. Pope at the time of the robbery.
The incident occurred five hours after a Norwood police officer shot and seriously wounded a man who police said threatened the officer with a knife.
The shooting in Avondale unfolded quickly after Cincinnati police officers responded to a frantic 911 call from a tenant at 3362 Reading Road. The tenant said some people were being robbed and pistol-whipped in the hallway. While on the phone with the 911 operator, the terrified caller said the suspects had just fired shots in the hall.
“It was a particularly vicious robbery,” said Chief Thomas H. Streicher Jr., during a news conference Tuesday. The chief declined to comment on the officers’ conduct, but said the shooting is being investigated, as is routine. The officers are on paid leave.
One robbery victim reported that the suspects had removed eight gold caps from the victim’s teeth. That person and two others injured during the robbery were treated at University Hospital and released.
In response to the robbery call, police officers Kenneth J. Grubbs and Jason K. Lamb, who both have two years on the force, pulled up to the apartment building and saw Mr. Pope run across Reading Road to a pay phone in front of Clifford’s Too convenience store.
Chief Streicher said the two officers chased Mr. Pope on foot behind Clifford’s Too, onto Hale Avenue and back across Reading. The officers repeatedly ordered him to stop. Mr. Pope refused and kept reaching toward his waistband, the chief said.
Officer Grubbs caught up with Mr. Pope above a grassy embankment on the south side of the apartment building where the robbery took place.
The two struggled and tumbled together down the embankment. Officer Lamb followed. At the base of the slope, the officers struggled with Mr. Pope, who police said was face down on the ground with his hands underneath his body.
The officers, now joined by seven-year veteran Officer Daniel Carder, ordered Mr. Pope to show his hands. Officer Grubbs and Officer Lamb struggled with Mr. Pope. Officer Lamb struck the suspect with a nightstick.
Mr. Pope pulled out a gun and held it to his head, police said. He threatened to kill himself. The officers shouted, “Gun!” and backed away. They found no cover on the embankment. The officers said Mr. Pope then rolled onto his right side and pointed the 9mm semiautomatic pistol at the officers.
Streicher
The three officers opened fire. Officer Grubbs shot three times; Officer Carder, seven; and Officer Lamb, 16.
After Mr. Pope was shot, he was taken to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:03 a.m.
Chief Streicher said police recovered a jammed, 9mm handgun from Mr. Pope, but investigators were unsure Tuesday when the gun jammed.
Police also found two bullet holes inside the apartment building where the robbery took place.
Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott Jr. said there were 10 bullets lodged inside Mr. Pope’s body, but he appeared to have been shot more than 10 times.
Dr. Parrott said all the bullet wounds are above the waist and appear to be in Mr. Pope’s back, front and arms. A bullet grazed his chin.
“We are not done with the autopsy,” Dr. Parrott said. “It is way premature for me to say much.”
The coroner said it will take about two more days of work before he will know anything else. Toxicology results will take about two weeks to be completed.
Mr. Pope had an extensive criminal record. In addition to several misdemeanors, he had been arrested for 18 felonies and convicted of five. Since 1992, the 23-year-old has been arrested on at least 26 charges including misdemeanor drug abuse, carrying a concealed weapon and felonious assault.
He was indicted on charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass in February. Warrants were issued for his arrest on Feb. 29.
Lt. Ray Ruberg, police spokesman, said the number of bullets fired will be investigated. Cincinnati police officers are trained to shoot until the threat to life is eliminated.
The other suspect, Mr. Gross, is described as a black male, 5 feet 9 inches tall with short, braided black hair and brown eyes. Police believe he may live in the 3300 block of Reading Road or 1000 block of Wellsprings Drive and frequents the 3300 block of Burnet Avenue as well as the area of Reading Road and Blair Avenue. He was last seen wearing a gray sweat shirt and blue jeans. He may be driving a white Geo Tracker, and police consider him armed and dangerous.
Two homicides have been reported in Avondale this year. Chief Streicher said the intersection where Tuesday’s robbery and police shooting took place is known as a high-crime trouble spot.
Avondale community leaders have been working with police to reduce violent crime and drug offenses in the neighborhood.
“We have too much violence in Avondale,” said Roscoe Fultz, president of the Avondale Community Council. “We can’t get upset about police shooting a suspect because, if they do the crime, they should have to pay for it.”
Keith Fangman, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said it is fortunate that the officers were not shot and killed.
“Once again, the violent criminal element realizes that if you point a gun at Cincinnati police officers, there are going to be severe consequences,” Mr. Fangman said. “Mr. Pope controlled his own destiny.”
Including Mr. Pope, Cincinnati police have fatally shot nine suspects since 1994. Tuesday’s shooting was the first police shooting of 2000. Three suspects were shot and killed by police in 1999.
Of the three officers, only Officer Carder has previously fired shots at a suspect in Cincinnati. Officer Carder shot and wounded shoplifting suspect Timothy Blair in Walnut Hills in November 1998.
That shooting was ruled justified by homicide investigators and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office. However, City Manager John Shirey said last week that discipline was pending against Officer Carder for the incident. Mr. Shirey has said he will wait to approve the discipline until after the Citizens Police Review Panel examines the case and makes its recommendations. The panel will begin reviewing Officer Carder’s case on Monday.
The officers in Tuesday’s shooting are on seven-day administrative leave and will meet with the police psychologist for evaluation before returning to the street.
Cincinnati homicide detectives are investigating the incident, as are officials from the internal investigations unit, the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office and the city’s Office of Municipal Investigations.
Enquirer reporters Allen Howard and Jim Hannah contributed to this report.
How it happened
Here is the Cincinnati police explanation of events that led up to the fatal shooting of Alfred Lamont Pope, 23, by officers at about 3 30 a.m. Tuesday in Avondale.
1. A woman calls 911 at 3 25 a.m. and reports that people are being pistol-whipped and robbed in the hallway of her apartment building at 3362 Reading Road. At 3 28 a.m., a caller says shots were fired in the hallway.
2. Officers Kenneth Grubbs and Jason Lamb, responding at 3 30 a.m., spot Mr. Pope running across Reading Road to a phone booth in front of Clifford’s Too convenience store. Officer Daniel Carder joins them.
3. Officers chase Mr. Pope to a grassy embankment next to the apartment building where the robbery took place. Police say that after a struggle, Mr. Pope points a gun to his own head, threatens suicide and then points the gun at police. Three officers fire 26 bullets, at least 10 hit Mr. Pope. The officers report the shooting at 3 33 a.m.
Officer Profiles
Officer Daniel Carder, 30, seven-year veteran
Fired seven shots. Officer Carder shot and wounded a shoplifting suspect in November 1998. Disciplinary action is pending. Counseled for hitting a suspect with a shotgun; reprimands for poor driving tactics, auto accidents, failure to submit a report, failure of good behavior and neglect of duty.
Officer Kenneth J. Grubbs, 29, two-year veteran
Fired three shots at Mr. Pope. Officer Grubbs has received no reprimands.
Officer Jason K. Lamb, 26, two-year veteran
Fired 16 shots — a full magazine in the division-issued Smith & Wesson 9mm — at Mr. Pope. Officer Lamb has received one reprimand for failing to locate a hidden gun on a suspect he searched.
What’s next
Four investigations were launched by the fatal shooting of Alfred Pope Tuesday morning by Cincinnati police
Cincinnati Police homicide unit Responds to the scene and investigates for criminal violations.
Hamilton County prosecutor Reviews findings of the homicide investigation and determines if a crime was committed by the officer.
Cincinnati Police Internal Investigations Section Responds to the scene, reviews the other investigations and looks for policy and procedural violations.
Cincinnati Office of Municipal Investigations Required by city law to begin an immediate investigation at the scene of all intentional police shootings.
Two other investigations may occur
Cincinnati Citizens Police Review Panel Has the option of reviewing other investigations for thoroughness and accuracy after they are complete.
U.S. Department of Justice Conducts its own probe for criminal violations in some cases, including the fatal shootings of Lorenzo Collins in 1997 and Michael Carpenter in 1999. The FBI completes a preliminary investigation and presents the findings to the Justice Department, which determines if a full-scale investigation is needed.
Police officers use computerized surveying equipment to map the site of Tuesday morning’s fatal shooting.Word count: 1659
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