Cincinnati officer cleared in race shooting

Stephen Roach was not required to testify

A white police officer has been acquitted of all charges relating to the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in the US city of Cincinnati in April.

The incident sparked the city's worst racial unrest in three decades.

The shooting provoked three nights of riots

Officer Stephen Roach had been charged with negligent homicide and obstructing official business after he shot Timothy Thomas, 19, on 7 April.

The shooting led to three nights of rioting in which dozens of people were injured, more than 800 arrested and a police curfew was imposed.

Extra police

It was the city's worst racial unrest since the assassination of Rev Martin Luther King Jr in 1968.

And although they are not expecting a repeat of that violence, city officials did say that extra police would be on duty when the verdict was announced.

Hamilton County Municipal Judge Ralph E Winkler gave the acquittal decision after hearing the trial without a jury, at the request of Mr Roach who was not required to testify.

The judge concluded that the shooting was "not a culpable criminal act".

Unblemished record

He said it was "unfortunate" that Mr Thomas had run from the police.

But he noted that the dead man had not followed an order to show his hands and that Officer Roach had an unblemished record prior to the incident.

Black Panthers were pall bearers at the funeral

Mr Roach had faced up to nine months in jail if convicted of both charges.

He still must face departmental proceedings under which he could be dismissed.

Thomas, who was wanted on 14 warrants at the time of the shooting, had already fled from three other police officers when Mr Roach pursued him into a darkened alley, Mr Roach's lawyer said.

Involuntary act

Defence lawyer Merlyn Shiverdecker said that fear had caused Mr Roach to involuntarily fire his weapon.

Mr Roach initially told investigators that Thomas made a threatening move and he thought Thomas had a gun.

The officer later told investigators that Thomas stepped around a corner and startled him, and that he accidentally shot Thomas.

Mr Shiverdecker said investigators failed to take into account how the darkness would have affected Mr Roach's perception, or how his instinctive fear could have affected what he recalled when he spoke to police about the shooting.

Unarmed

Investigators later found that Thomas was unarmed.

And other officers who had been chasing him testified that they did not draw their weapons, nor felt the need to do so, according to the prosecution lawyers.

The prosecution argued that the incident occurred because Mr Roach had been running with his finger on the trigger of his 9mm revolver, rather than waiting until a threat was perceived as Cincinnati police officers are trained to do.