By Jane Prendergast
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A burglary suspect who grabbed a Cincinnati police officer's nightstick and beat him around the head after a short chase was shot to death by the officer early Sunday in Northside, authorities say.
Sherrer
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Schulte
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Click on Schulte's photo to see his head wounds
(Photo by Cincinnati Police)
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It was the first fatal confrontation in more than a year between a Cincinnati officer and a suspect. The 4 a.m. confrontation left the officer injured - and left city officials following a new, more public playbook to handle such situations.
The dead man, Andre Sherrer, 34, was a convicted burglar and robber who'd spent nearly all his adult life in prison. He was paroled from an Ohio prison in July after serving 14 years for aggravated robbery.The injured officer, Michael Schulte, is a four-year veteran of the police department who grew up in St. Bernard.
Schulte was in his patrol car before dawn Sunday when he heard a police dispatcher say a private security company reported someone had broken into Legend Sports Wear on Chase Avenue. When he arrived on the scene, Schulte saw a man running from the store.
The 26-year-old officer chased the man through two alleys and across Hamilton Avenue before struggling in a dark corridor between two buildings. Somehow - police supervisors weren't sure Sunday afternoon exactly how - Sherrer got Schulte's metal nightstick and started hitting him in the head with it.
The officer drew his gun and fired six times. Sherrer was shot at 4:10 a.m. and pronounced dead at University Hospital 29 minutes later.
Police said Sherrer did not possess a gun or any other weapon but the nightstick.
Police officials cautioned that the investigation had only begun.
"This is a reasonable action,'' Lt. Col. Richard Janke said. "He was in pursuit of a felony suspect."
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THE NIGHTSTICK
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Schulte's nightstick, a PR24, typically extends to about 24 inches and weighs about 24 ounces. The baton is made of a high-strength polycarbonate plastic.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
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Monitors from the city's Human Relations Commission walked through Northside Sunday, talking to residents about what happened. They planned to continue doing so for two days. The neighborhood, nestled close by the spot Interstate 74 forks off I-75, was quiet Sunday night."We're here to really help get the story out," said Lesley Jones, program coordinator for the commission. "We just can't let rumors run through the neighborhood."
Resident activist Stefanie Sunderland was worried about fallout. She said 15 fires were set in the neighborhood after the police shot and killed suspect Michael Carpenter there in 1999.
The killing was the first by a Cincinnati police officer since November 2001. It was also the first since new procedures were put in place after the police shooting of Timothy Thomas in April 2001, which sparked riots and a year-long investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The difference in the city's response was dramatic.
Police investigators use survey equipment to mark evidence in Pope Alley and Ingol Alley.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
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Two days after the Thomas killing, his mother went to a City Council committee meeting demanding to know what happened. Without answers, the crowd grew unruly; violence started that Monday night and continued for three more days.
But within eight hours of Sherrer's death Sunday, officials called a news conference at which they used a Power Point presentation to describe the scene, give preliminary information about what Schulte did and show pictures of his battered head. Janke announced that he'd personally visited Sherrer's mother and sister.
Mayor Charlie Luken spoke the words police officers have been saying they wanted to hear - that he supports Schulte as the investigation continues. He spoke to the officer's family Sunday morning.
"He starts getting beaten about the head with (his baton)," the mayor said. "He's entitled to use reasonable force to protect himself."
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SCHULTE FILE
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• Badge: #P721
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Age: 26
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Education: Graduated from St. Bernard High School in 1994; attended Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.
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Joined the force: June 1999.
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Work history: Has worked his entire career in District 5, which includes College Hill, Mount Airy and Clifton. Counseled in 2000 for conducting personal business on work time because he went with a former police officer to visit his probation officer.
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Latest performance rating: 16.5 (20 is excellent, 25 maximum)
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Commendations: Three in personnel file, one from Chief Tom Streicher in January 2002 for "courage and fortitude'' in rescuing a person from a fire.
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SHERRER FILE
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• Age: 34
• Family: Relatives, including his mother, live in Springfield Township.
• History: Paroled last July from Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe, where he was sent in 1988 to serve a 9- to 25-year sentence for aggravated robbery. Details on that incident were not available Sunday.
In 1986, he was sent to prison for a year on a conviction for breaking and entering.
• On his cell phone: "This is Dre. I fixed my voicemail, so please leave something nice.''
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Members of the Cincinnati Black United Front were critical about the nearly five-hour lag time between the 4:10 a.m incident and when they were notified about it at 9 a.m. They also wanted to know, said BUF member Juleana Frierson, how Sherrer "allegedly'' got the nightstick and why the officer got into a one-on-one fight in the dark spot.
The group also asked for an independent autopsy and the facts of the investigation revealed within 90 days, as is set out in a collaborative agreement signed last year between the city and the BUF and ACLU. That agreement ended the group's lawsuit alleging years of discrimination against blacks by police officers.
"There's only one witness, so it shouldn't take a long time," Frierson said. "(The situation) raises a whole lot of questions. We're going to put our faith in the investigative process."
Keith Fangman, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said Sunday night he appreciated the mayor's support and would like to see more of the same from "some of the police critics on City Council."
"It's very simple: Violent criminal breaks into a business, leads an officer on a dangerous foot pursuit, then attacks the officer by hitting him in the head with his own nightstick,'' Fangman said. "Our training states unequivocally that striking someone in the head with a PR-24 is considered use of deadly force. That cuts both ways."
He spoke to Schulte about 6:30 p.m. The officer "still has a significant amount of pain from being struck on the head,'' Fangman said, "but he's going to be OK."
Sherrer's family, some of whom live on a cul-de-sac in Springfield Township, declined comment to reporters. A woman at the house there who identified herself as a family friend said: "We're not going to make statements. We're going to let the police investigate before we make any statements.''
Another woman, who described herself as a relative, said this in response to a reporter's question about whether the family had any concerns about the officer's actions: "As long as the police officer is fine, I'm glad of that."
Photographed through a broken display window, members of the Black United Front question store owner Oumar Ba inside his store.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
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The owner of the burglarized store, Oumar Ba, an immigrant from Mauritania in West Africa, stood across the street watching as police investigated Sunday. The front window of the store, which had been open 11 months, was broken out.
"I've never had any trouble before," Ba said.
The last suspect shot to death by a Cincinnati police officer was Michael Duncan, killed Nov. 28, 2001. Known to have mental problems, he stood at a bus stop on Victory Parkway in Walnut Hills and threatened people with a BB gun.
Sherrer called himself "Dre." On the voicemail of the cell phone number he wrote on a traffic ticket he got in November, he left this message for callers:
"This is Dre. I fixed my voicemail. So please leave something nice.''
Reporters Erica Solvig, Cindi
Andrews and William A. Weathers contributed to this report. E-mail jprendergast@enquirer.com
MORE COVERAGE:
• Officials hurry to expedite details
• Text of police, emergency calls
• EDITORIAL: Getting the facts out
Video of police news conference
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Police: Fatal shooting 'reasonable'
Officials hurry to expedite details
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