Cincinnati to Pay Owensby Family $6.5 Million: Unarmed Black Man Beaten to Death & Refused Medical Treatment

Still No Cops Punished

The city of Cincinnati agreed Friday to a $6.5 million settlement with the family of Roger Owensby Jr., the Cincinnati man who died in police custody nearly six years ago. The settlement – believed to be the largest of its kind in Cincinnati history – resolves one of the best-known and most contentious civil rights claims against the city’s police department. Owensby’s death on Nov. 7, 2000, energized community activists who had complained for years about the treatment of African-Americans by Cincinnati police officers. Tensions erupted five months later, in April 2001, when a police shooting of an unarmed black suspect sparked days of unrest and rioting. Mayor Mark Mallory said he hoped the settlement Friday would help improve police-community relations and would allow Owensby’s family and the rest of the city to begin moving forward. Owensby’s family could not be reached late Friday. But the family’s lawyer, Paul Martins, said one of the motivations for the settlement was resolving the case without creating more trouble in the community. Owensby, 29, died in police custody shortly after his arrest outside a convenience store. Police had questioned him in the parking lot of the store and he initially cooperated with the officers. Police say Owensby attempted to run and was tackled by several officers. He was struck several times, forced to the ground and placed in handcuffs. One of the officers involved in Owensby’s arrest, Patrick Caton, was fired for failure of good behavior but won his arbitration case and could get his job back. Another, Robert Blaine Jorg, quit the police force. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether any of the officers should face criminal charges under federal civil rights laws. more