I wonder why this hasn't been on the news...I heard this on the radio, and I decided to look it up and share with you all.
LIMA, Ohio (AP) — A white police officer has been charged in the shooting death of a black woman during a January drug raid that touched off protests and much discussion about race relations in a northwest Ohio city, where one in four residents is black.
A grand jury charged Sgt. Joseph Chavalia, the officer who fired the fatal shot, with negligent homicide, a special prosecutor announced Monday.
Tarika Wilson, 26, was killed in a SWAT raid at her house while she was holding her 1-year-old son, Sincere Wilson, who was wounded. Family members say she was an innocent bystander who was not armed.
Chavalia, who was to be arraigned later Monday, also was charged with negligent assault in Sincere Wilson’s injuries, which required his finger to be amputated.
Wilson’s family and Lima’s NAACP office said the misdemeanor charges against Chavalia should have been more severe.
“When you take aim and shoot someone with your gun, I don’t see how it’s negligent,” said Ivory Austin II, brother of Tarika Wilson.
“No one’s above the law, even if he serves it. Don’t separate the police from the people. We are all equal in the society. Treat the police like you would treat the common man.”
A message seeking comment was left for the police chief. There is no telephone listing for Chavalia in the Lima area.
Many citizens and civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, demanded that Chavalia and police officials who planned the raid be held accountable.
It would be a travesty of justice if no one was charged, Jackson said last month during a visit to address racial tensions. “This young woman did not deserve to die,” he said during the visit.
Jason Upthegrove, president of the Lima NAACP, said the group will ask the FBI and Justice Department to determine whether the case was handled fairly.
“Any time a man shoots through a baby and kills an unarmed woman, and is charged with two misdemeanors, I think it would be an understatement to say that that’s unacceptable,” he said. “I think it says a lot about the judicial system here in our county, it says a lot about the grand jury.”
Following the shooting, dozens of people accused the police department of being hostile and abusive toward minorities. One group led a series of marches through the city to protest what they said was mistreatment by police.
City leaders have been fearful of what would happen if the officer was not charged.
Wilson, a mother of six, and her son were shot when a team of officers burst into her home looking for her boyfriend on Jan. 4.
Little else is known about what happened. Police have said Wilson’s 31-year-old boyfriend, who was arrested during the raid, was the target of a drug investigation.
Police Chief Greg Garlock said crack cocaine and marijuana were found.
Chavalia, the veteran officer who shot Wilson, has been on paid leave during the investigation.
The shooting took place in a neighborhood pressed up against a rail yard and downwind from an oil refinery and chemical plant.
There’s been a great deal of soul searching about the mistrust between minorities and police.
Two week after the raid, residents, mostly black, lined up to complain about mistreatment and question investigators looking into the shooting at a forum on led by Ohio’s attorney general.
Some complained that the investigation would be handled differently if the shooter wasn’t a police officer or if the victim was white. The investigation was turned over to the state attorney general’s office because a city police officer was involved.
LIMA, Ohio (AP) — A white police officer has been charged in the shooting death of a black woman during a January drug raid that touched off protests and much discussion about race relations in a northwest Ohio city, where one in four residents is black.
A grand jury charged Sgt. Joseph Chavalia, the officer who fired the fatal shot, with negligent homicide, a special prosecutor announced Monday.
Tarika Wilson, 26, was killed in a SWAT raid at her house while she was holding her 1-year-old son, Sincere Wilson, who was wounded. Family members say she was an innocent bystander who was not armed.
Chavalia, who was to be arraigned later Monday, also was charged with negligent assault in Sincere Wilson’s injuries, which required his finger to be amputated.
Wilson’s family and Lima’s NAACP office said the misdemeanor charges against Chavalia should have been more severe.
“When you take aim and shoot someone with your gun, I don’t see how it’s negligent,” said Ivory Austin II, brother of Tarika Wilson.
“No one’s above the law, even if he serves it. Don’t separate the police from the people. We are all equal in the society. Treat the police like you would treat the common man.”
A message seeking comment was left for the police chief. There is no telephone listing for Chavalia in the Lima area.
Many citizens and civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, demanded that Chavalia and police officials who planned the raid be held accountable.
It would be a travesty of justice if no one was charged, Jackson said last month during a visit to address racial tensions. “This young woman did not deserve to die,” he said during the visit.
Jason Upthegrove, president of the Lima NAACP, said the group will ask the FBI and Justice Department to determine whether the case was handled fairly.
“Any time a man shoots through a baby and kills an unarmed woman, and is charged with two misdemeanors, I think it would be an understatement to say that that’s unacceptable,” he said. “I think it says a lot about the judicial system here in our county, it says a lot about the grand jury.”
Following the shooting, dozens of people accused the police department of being hostile and abusive toward minorities. One group led a series of marches through the city to protest what they said was mistreatment by police.
City leaders have been fearful of what would happen if the officer was not charged.
Wilson, a mother of six, and her son were shot when a team of officers burst into her home looking for her boyfriend on Jan. 4.
Little else is known about what happened. Police have said Wilson’s 31-year-old boyfriend, who was arrested during the raid, was the target of a drug investigation.
Police Chief Greg Garlock said crack cocaine and marijuana were found.
Chavalia, the veteran officer who shot Wilson, has been on paid leave during the investigation.
The shooting took place in a neighborhood pressed up against a rail yard and downwind from an oil refinery and chemical plant.
There’s been a great deal of soul searching about the mistrust between minorities and police.
Two week after the raid, residents, mostly black, lined up to complain about mistreatment and question investigators looking into the shooting at a forum on led by Ohio’s attorney general.
Some complained that the investigation would be handled differently if the shooter wasn’t a police officer or if the victim was white. The investigation was turned over to the state attorney general’s office because a city police officer was involved.
