Coroner Rules 350-Pound Man's Death a Homicide
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
CINCINNATI (AP) — A struggle with police was the primary cause of a 350-pound black man's death and will be ruled a homicide, the coroner said Wednesday.
Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott said Nathaniel Jones (search), 41, suffered from an enlarged heart, obesity and had intoxicating levels of cocaine, PCP and methanol in his blood.
Ruling the death a homicide "should not be interpreted as implying inappropriate behavior or the use of excessive force by police," he said.
Ruling the death a homicide "should not be interpreted as implying inappropriate behavior or the use of excessive force by police," he said. In other words, he was killed by the use of appropriate force by police. The cops acted the way they do every day, even though we don't have access to their daily videos on a regular basis.
The question now is, "Would the people of Cincinnati feel comfortable with their definition of 'appropriate' force?"
Instead of blaming the cops for following their training, the Cincinnati residents should either condone the status quo or provide new guidelines to the police.
Until then, I support the police on this incident.