Article published January 07, 2008
POLICE DRUG RAID
Calm sought as Lima sorts fatal shooting; officials map peaceful steps to see that justice is served
By JULIE M. McKINNON and JANET ROMAKER
BLADE STAFF WRITERS
LIMA, Ohio — Councilman Derry Glenn yesterday called for calm and prayers for Tarika Wilson’s family — and the unidentified police officer who fatally shot the Lima mother of six and wounded her 14-month-old son in her arms.
Demonstrating peacefully, asking for the FBI and other federal agencies to step in, and trying to bring to Lima high-profile civil-rights activists such as Martin Luther King III and the Rev. Al Sharpton are appropriate responses to the deadly raid Friday night, Mr. Glenn and other African-American leaders said at a news conference yesterday.
“We’re going to see that justice is done,” said Bishop Richard Cox, an official with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
The organization has been asked by African-American leaders in Lima to coordinate community efforts to get answers about the drug raid.
Brenda Johnson, executive director of the Cheryl Allen Southside Center in Lima, said, “We are upset, but we have not lost our heads.”
Gathering at the house where the raid occurred are the Rev. James White, left, of Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church; the victim’s mother, Darla Jennings, center, comforted by Ivory Austin II, the victim’s brother, and Lima Councilman Derry Glenn.
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More than 40 people gathered yesterday in front of Ms. Wilson’s house at 218 East Third St. for the news conference and prayers.
On Saturday, a crowd of about 300 people marched with family members to the Lima Police Department, promising to return every week until they had answers and justice.
Ms. Wilson, 26, who was to begin studying nursing today at Rhodes State College in Lima, was killed and her son, Sincere Wilson, was wounded during the raid.
SWAT team police officers went to the home to arrest her boyfriend, Anthony Terry, 31, who was suspected of selling drugs there, police said. Marijuana and crack cocaine were found in the home, police said.
Terry was being held last night in the Allen County jail on suspicion of possession of crack cocaine and felonious assault.
He had an initial appearance this afternoon in Lima Municipal Court on a charge of trafficking in drugs.
Judge Rickard Workman denied Terry’s request for a personal recognizance bond and ordered that he be held in lieu of a $50,000 bond.
Authorities said additional charges are possible.
Terry will be arraigned Jan. 11 and a public defender will be assigned to his case.
Notes of encouragement and sympathy have been posted on a fence outside the Lima home where the raid occurred.
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As a result of the shooting, Sincere’s index finger was amputated.
The child is scheduled for surgery on his arm today at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, according to his grandmother and Ms. Wilson’s mother, Darla Jennings of Lima.
The incident may shed light on police problems in Lima, Ms. Jennings said.
She and others yesterday continued to allege that police raided the wrong house. However, police have confirmed that the search warrant was served at the correct address.
Ms. Jennings is caring for three of Ms. Wilson’s children, Tae-sha, 8, Sereinitie, 6, and Datla-Jia, 3, while 4-year-old Johnny and 5-year-old Sere-Sha temporarily are with another relative, she said.
“I’m facing it now,” Ms. Jennings said of the shooting. “It’s for a reason.”
Lima police long have targeted African-Americans, such as holding youths face down on the ground and pointing guns at them and then claiming they had the wrong group, alleged Councilman Tommy Pitts, chairman of council’s safety services committee.
“This comes as no surprise to me,” he said about the shooting.
Ms. Jennings said her daughter was shot upstairs while with the children, and she wants to know what in that bedroom threatened the police officer who shot Ms. Wilson and Sincere.
Lima police yesterday had no comment on the case that they turned over to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation because the shooting involved a police officer.
Two crime-scene investigators and an official from the bureau’s special investigation unit continued to work on the case yesterday, said Jennifer Brindisi, a spokesman for the bureau.
The bureau does not comment on ongoing investigations, Ms. Brindisi said. The Lima case is a high priority and should be finished within weeks, she said.
“I’m hopeful that it won’t be a long, drawn-out one, that we’ll be able to get some answers pretty soon,” Ms. Brindisi said.
Allen County Coroner Gary Beasley said an autopsy on Ms. Wilson yesterday showed she had been shot and had two wounds. He declined to elaborate because the bureau is handling the investigation.
Residents plan to attend tonight’s Lima City Council meeting and try to get some answers about the raid.
“There will be no ‘business as usual’ in the city of Lima,” said Ms. Johnson of the community center, who added that police should admit mistakes and apologize instead of remaining silent.
Council President John Nixon, who offered his condolences to Ms. Wilson’s family, said it would be speculative and irresponsible to comment on the investigation before it is completed.
It will be up to council members to decide whether to honor public requests to address council about the shooting, he said.
“I do not think any conclusions can be reached until the facts are known,” Mr. Nixon said. “While emotions are running high and a family has been changed forever, making comments frankly can sometimes only serve to aggravate the situation. It won’t reverse events that have taken place.”
City officials will deal with the investigation’s findings when completed and will take public comment if needed, either at a regular or special council meeting, he said.
Although Councilman Glenn called for calm and unity among both black and white residents yesterday, some of Ms. Wilson’s relatives remained agitated and distraught, including her father, Ivory Lee Austin I of Lima.
“You don’t understand the hurt,” he said. “I’m going to see justice.”
Questions about the raid continued to swirl around Lima, with Councilman Glenn protesting the way police treated him as both a city official and landlord.
As owner of the house Ms. Wilson rented without incident for a year, Mr. Glenn said he should have been notified that police suspected drug activity there and maybe he could’ve helped.
Mayor David Berger said landlords are not notified about such investigations.
Contact Julie M. McKinnon at: jmckinnon@theblade.com or 419-724-6087.
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