By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Quick

HAMILTON - A 23-year-old city man was arrested Thursday and accused of activating two canisters of tear gas Wednesday night, sending 14 people to Fort Hamilton Hospital for treatment.

Robert David Quick, charged with inducing panic and unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance, is scheduled to appear Tuesday in Hamilton Municipal Court. He was being held in the city jail Thursday evening.

Quick is accused of activating in Millikin Woods "a riot control grenade manufactured for police use," a police report says, adding, "the resultant cloud of gas caused the evacuation of homes in the area, caused police to have to set up a perimeter and restrict access (to) a large area surrounding Millikin Woods."

After receiving reports of people having respiratory problems and eye and skin irritations in the 1300 block of Franklin Street, officers cordoned off an eight-block area for about three hours.

But the source of the problem was not located until Thursday morning. Following a tip, police found two canisters - one that could hold 12 ounces, the other 16 ounces -- in a picnic shelter in Millikin Woods park, said Sgt. Thomas E. Kilgour, police spokesman. By Thursday afternoon, police had found three cases containing about 75 canisters inside a nearby house, Kilgour said.

Police were not releasing a motive for the alleged crime, but Quick told WCPO-TV, Channel 9, that he thought the devices were merely harmless smoke bombs.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com