Top 25 Most Dangerous Cities 2003

[Lindaloo]

Miss Mary, I watched the footage of that beating this morning at work. The guy was resisting arrest and was even fighting the cops. This man weighed more than both policemen put together. His weight combined with PCP and cocaine he was then a speeding locomotive. Those two drugs are lethal and his actions are a result of overload from the interaction of both drugs. While in a class I saw where a 250 pound man was shot 5 times with a 45 automatic and was still resisting. Those cops had no back up, which means they were not able to call it in. IMO, those cops lives were in complete danger. This would not even be in the news if the guy had been white. Sad, but true. When the autopsy report becomes available it will probably say that the man died from heart failure. There have even been reports of deaths of the heart exploding with the mixtures of PCP and cocaine.

[streetsoldier]

OH, yeah...I remenber having to take down a 300-pounder alone 30 some-odd years ago. He wasn't "juiced up", though, and I effected his arrest by throwing my STL war club sideways and tripping him. After that, he was no better than a beached whale...

As to STL being #2, it was #1 when I was in the thin blue line there...and with the "takeover" of the MPD by local politicians ten years ago (we used to have State authority), I don't expect things to improve much.

[Miss Mary]

Miss Mary, I watched the footage of that beating this morning at work. The guy was resisting arrest and was even fighting the cops. This man weighed more than both policemen put together. His weight combined with PCP and cocaine he was then a speeding locomotive. Those two drugs are lethal and his actions are a result of overload from the interaction of both drugs. While in a class I saw where a 250 pound man was shot 5 times with a 45 automatic and was still resisting. Those cops had no back up, which means they were not able to call it in. IMO, those cops lives were in complete danger. This would not even be in the news if the guy had been white. Sad, but true. When the autopsy report becomes available it will probably say that the man died from heart failure. There have even been reports of deaths of the heart exploding with the mixtures of PCP and cocaine.

Linda - well you are the voice of reason. Want to move here? You see we are maybe on the brink of real problems here again. It's a good thing we're going into winter. Over 2 years ago, we had riots in Aprill, 01. The National Guard had to be called in and we had a mandatory curfew in place for 2 days/2 nights. It was a scary time! This was a direct result of cops chasing a teen down a dark alley, who had misdemeanor charges against him, and a cop prematurely shooting him. This boy died, and the cop's defense - he thought the kid was reaching into his pants. What he was probably doing was pulling his pants up, they wear them around their hips these days. The boy was African American and IMO, ran b/c it was after midnight and he was a teen. Instead of turning around and facing the officer, he ran. You can see in his teen mind, why he ran. His shooting was the final straw for inner city African American citizens - all out riots started. His death was just after a string of other shootings or mishandling of arrests, all AA citizens. Not white citizens. So hopefully this will give you some history. If the incident from a few days ago was the first and only time cops shot an unarmed AA man or beat a man who subsequently died after the beating, then we wouldn't have this debate going on. Our Mayor was quoted as saying he knew this story would make national news b/c it happened here, in Cincinnati.

Every AA citizen interviewed on the news said the treatment this man received was unfair. A few brave white citizens came on camera to say under the circumstances, the man on drugs and attacking cops, the cops did what they had to.

A new video has emerged, taken inside the fast food restaurant where the incident occurred. The man was behaving strange and then went outside to lie on the grass. His eyes rolled back in his head and someone called medics. You can read about it here:
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2003/local/12/ ... _late.html
I imagine this video will NOT make the national news b/c it shows the man was out of control to an extent before cops even arrived.


We have a real divide in my city and I honestly don't know what the answer is. We live outside city limits so we're not confronted with all of the resentment, just simmering after something like this. Our downtown is a virtual ghost town after 5 p.m.

Mary

PS - Linda, here's one more article, if you have time, that may shed light on the heated debate:
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/1 ... ape03.html

[southerngale]

Well well well

Not one Texas city made the top 25! I'm really impressed! It's not like Texas is an itty bitty state like Iowa, Jacki.

Seriously, no Houston, Dallas or San Antonio? kewl tamales!



Everyone stay safe!!!!!!

[CINCINNATISUN]

I'm hoping this incident will blow over without the violence
we had here back in 2001, that was sad. IMO the police
officers involved this time were doing their job to help this
individual and he attacked them.

[Miss Mary]

I'm hoping this incident will blow over without the violence
we had here back in 2001, that was sad. IMO the police
officers involved this time were doing their job to help this
individual and he attacked them.

Me too Steve, hope this will blow over. But you can feel the resentment building again and I'm no where near downtown out here. When you lay all the facts out on the table, look at the video, read the coroner's report, then it does appear cops were doing their job. It is sad a man had to die but if he hadn't resisted, he'd be in jail right now. Or out on bail.

Mary

[Lindaloo]

I am aware of the racial tensions in Cincy. BUT, I ask you, is it really? The media will do anything they can to turn something into a racial media feeding frenzy.

[Miss Mary]

I am aware of the racial tensions in Cincy. BUT, I ask you, is it really? The media will do anything they can to turn something into a racial media feeding frenzy.

Well, it does feel different downtown that it used to just 5 or 10 years ago. My mom took the bus downtown and shopped on a regular basis. She doesn't like going now. When we take in Reds games, we park a few blocks away to save $, but walk very fast. You are confronted all the time by panhandlers. And you just don't know what their intent is anyway - let's just say I never make eye contact anymore. And again, walk very, very fast. I also partied a lot downtown, in the mid-80s. My "single days" between marriages. We had so much fun and I never, ever felt unsafe down there. I can't put my finger on it, but you do feel uneasy. The way I thought I'd feel visiting NYC for the first time, 1993. My mom had me all worried - walk fast, don't make eye contact, etc. Jim just smirked, he'd been to NYC a lot. He said Mary it's not like that! And ya know what, I would feel safer in NYC right now than in my own downtown. One of Nina's teachers is always saying we live in a bubble out here in Anderson (an eastern suburb, outside Cincinnati city limits). It's not the real world. And downtown is the real world. She's right. We do live in a bubble. When the riots were going on and the curfew was in place, we all kept muttering - nothing will happen out here. It didn't but the unrest sure wasn't far away.

Mary

[CINCINNATISUN]

I agree with Mary about downtown Cincy, anymore
crime happens during daytime and I wouldn't feel safe even
going to the library down there like I did years ago. I went
to a Reds game last year for the first time in many years,
we went with a group from church on a bus so we didn't have
to walk very far.

[CaptinCrunch]

Dallas TX. should have been on the list at about 12 or 13th worst. Dallas murder rate is at it's highest in 10 yrs. Plus all the crap surrounding the fake drug scandle, and the firing of the chief of police.

Ft Worth is a MUCH nicer and cleaner city to visit, plus it ranks #1 for the best looking ladies in the US.

[pojo]

that doesn't surprise me about Gary, IN. My habitat friends and I stopped a rest stop in the middle of the night and one of my guy friends started talking to some gang bangers in the restroom....one fo the guys just put a brand new clip into the handgun.... talk about :O needless to say, we go the heck out fo there!

[weatherluvr]

Springfield, MA over Boston, MA... interesting.

That doesn't surprise me in the least. I grew up there, and I can tell you that city is on a major downward spiral. I've been urging my parents to move, if for nothing else than that their property value has been dropping the last 10-15 years.

[Lindaloo]

Well, the coroner has spoken. Seems that the guy did suffer from heart failure. His heart was already enlarged and the drugs added to it during the struggle with police. Sad indeed.

I do not understand why the coroner ruled the death a homicide then in the same breath laid no blame on the police. The only mention of the police was that "the struggle with the police" was the main factor in the death of Nathaniel Jones. To me that sounds like a scared cop out report.

[David]

Topeka can't make a list either. Lol

[ColdFront77]

Springfield, MA over Boston, MA... interesting.

That doesn't surprise me in the least. I grew up there, and I can tell you that city is on a major downward spiral. I've been urging my parents to move, if for nothing else than that their property value has been dropping the last 10-15 years.

I am not really surprised... in general one would think that the capital city would have a higher crime rate. I am well aware that Boston is a very small city in square miles.