By Gregory Korte
and Jane Prendergast
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Exactly 400 days have passed since a Cincinnati police officer killed, shot or even fired a weapon at someone.

About 1 a.m. today, Cincinnati police officers with guns drawn move in on a car on Vine Street after they witnessed shots fired from the back seat and stopped it. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

For a city in which police shootings of African-American men led to the city's worst rioting in decades in 2001, it's an uneasy and bittersweet milestone.

In the three years from 1999 through 2001, there were 19 incidents in which Cincinnati police fired on a suspect, killing 10 of them. In 2002, there were none, according to the city's Office of Municipal Investigation.

Considering the number of police shootings in other cities - and the number in Cincinnati before last year - the drop-off in shootings is "nothing short of a miracle," said OMI Director Mark Gissiner.

Whether it's the result of smarter policing, a slowdown by police or dumb luck, no one knows if the trend is permanent.

"It's kind of a knock-on-wood thing," said Mayor Charlie Luken. "Crime being what it is, and guns being what they are, you get the feeling it can't go on forever."

Police are uncomfortable talking about it. They say officers are simply being more careful, not putting themselves in dangerous situations.

But they also deny that a "slowdown" in police activity is the cause. They note that officers have confiscated hundreds of weapons from suspects without incident.

"The cops are taking the time to do very effective planning when they have the opportunity to," said Police Chief Tom Streicher. "They're maintaining a distinct tactical advantage."

Al Gerhardstein, a lawyer whose lawsuit for alleged racial profiling led to many of the police reforms enacted since the riots, said there's now an accountability system for officers.

"I like to think it's because the Justice Department reforms are written, there's training, and there's a greater consciousness on the part of officers," he said. "Officers know there will be a high degree of rigor in examining their actions."

The last person shot by police was Michael Duncan, on Nov. 28, 2001. He was waving a BB gun on a Walnut Hills street corner and confronted police officers, who shot and killed him. He was mentally ill and family members later said he probably wanted police to shoot him. He was the 10th person police shot at that year.

Police did fire their weapons seven times in 2002, according to OMI. Five involved dogs (two escaped; three were injured) and two were accidental. Those numbers are typical.

The last shooting happened when a dog charged Officer Steve Lawson during a drug bust in Madisonville. Officer Lawson shot the dog in the leg - the first time he had fired his weapon in the line of duty in his four years on the force.

"Given all the guns that people are (getting) off the streets all the time, it's amazing that this kind of stuff doesn't happen more often," Officer Lawson said. "People think we shoot all the time, but we don't."

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com and jprendergast@enquirer.com