Official spreads message after fatal SWAT shooting

The official is looking for volunteers to join the team.

LIMA, Ohio (AP) — A city council member who owns the rental house where a woman was shot to death during a SWAT raid is organizing a healing team to knock on doors in an effort to spread a message of peace.

Derry Glenn said he’s asking for volunteers to join the team, which will do its first round of visits Tuesday night. His goal is for the group to eventually visit every home in the city.

“We are going to give everybody a hug and tell them we love them,” he said. “We want to talk to people to let them know we are here, we love Lima and things will be OK.”

Tarika Wilson, a 26-year-old mother of six, was killed Jan. 4 during the drug raid at the home, where she and her boyfriend lived. Her 1-year-old son, whom she was holding, also was shot, and one of his fingers was amputated.

Sgt. Joseph Chavalia, the white officer who shot Wilson, remains on paid leave as investigators determine whether he should be criminally charged. Wilson was black, and the shooting led to increased tension between minorities and police.

Still, the shooting has brought people together to seek change and solutions, said Jason Upthegrove, the president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He said he hopes the community moves forward in a positive way.

“When you’re talking about a single mother of six gunned down in her own home, that is a cause all of us can champion,” he said. “That pain resonates in all of us.”