A special grand jury will begin hearing testimony Monday in the case of Cincinnati Police Lt. Col. Ron Twitty, whose city-owned car received more than $3,000 in damage in what he described as a mysterious hit-skip accident July 4.

Lt. Col. Twitty

        Subpoenas have been issued to several police officers and others involved in the investigation to testify in Hamilton County Court in a case that boils down to whether Col. Twitty told the truth about the damaged 2001 Ford Taurus.

        A Hamilton County sheriff's deputy delivered subpoenas Tuesday to two people at Fuller Ford in Queensgate — manager Kurt Watts, who wrote the estimate on car damage and inspected the repair work, and his technician, who fixed the car. The dealership is under contract to repair city vehicles.

        Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen declined comment Wednesday night on whether a special grand jury was being convened in the case, or if subpoenas had been issued. He also would not comment on whether a plea agreement had been attempted with Col. Twitty or his attorney, Sharon Zealey.

        Ms. Zealey could not be reached Wednesday.

        Chief Tom Streicher put Col. Twitty, the only African-American ever to reach the rank of assistant chief in Cincinnati, on paid leave July 12 in the midst of questions about what really happened early that morning.

        Col. Twitty maintains the car was hit on the street outside his Bond Hill home after he had returned from a party in North College Hill and was sleeping. After evaluating reports of the damage, the chief questioned whether that was true.

        But the chief's initial public handling of the case inflamed racial tension in the city and prompted the National Urban League to move its large 2003 convention to another city in protest.

        Chief Streicher asked the sheriff's office to investigate the case, saying it wouldn't be appropriate for his department to handle it. Col. Twitty is commander of the police department's investigations bureau.

        Sheriff's deputies finished their work in about two weeks, handing evidence over July 26 to Mr. Allen to determine whether to proceed with criminal charges that could include obstruction of justice or falsification.

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