Black leaders plan march over charges in shooting

The Ohio attorney general’s office handled the investigation.

LIMA, Ohio (AP) — Charges against a white police officer accused in the shooting death of a black woman during a January drug raid did little to satisfy community members.

Black clergy leaders say they’ll organize a march to protest.

Other predicted an angry reaction. “They’ve got their hands full now,” Dwayne Williams said as he washed a car at an auto detailing shop.

Most were upset that the two misdemeanor charges filed Monday against Sgt. Joseph Chavalia were not more severe — he could serve no more that eight months in jail if convicted of both negligent homicide and negligent assault.

Chavalia pleaded not guilty to both charges. He’s accused of killing Tarika Wilson and injuring her 1-year-old son, whom she was holding.

The shooting touched off protests and much discussion in the last two months about race relations in the northwest Ohio city, where one in four residents is black.

Following the shooting, dozens of people accused the police department of being hostile and abusive toward minorities. One group led a series of marches through the city to protest what they said was mistreatment by police.

“Some people say at least we got justice but he took her life,” said Ivory Austin II, brother of Tarika Wilson. “He should’ve been charged with what someone on the street would have been charged.”

Wilson’s family said the 26-year-old mother was an unarmed, innocent bystander in the SWAT raid.

Jason Upthegrove, president of the Lima NAACP, said the group will ask the FBI and Justice Department to determine whether the case was handled fairly.

“Any time a man shoots through a baby and kills an unarmed woman, and is charged with two misdemeanors, I think it would be an understatement to say that that’s unacceptable,” he said. “I think it says a lot about the judicial system here in our county, it says a lot about the grand jury.”

City leaders have been fearful of what would happen if the officer was not charged.

Mayor David Berger said Monday that the city had no role in the investigation and that community members should be confident that it was handled fairly. The investigation was turned over to the state attorney general’s office because a city police officer was involved.

“Clearly there are folks who are not satisfied,” Berger said. “Again, I would assert that the grand jury process is one that has been independent of us.”

Many citizens and civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, demanded that Chavalia and police officials who planned the raid be held accountable.

It would be a travesty of justice if no one was charged, Jackson said last month during a visit to address racial tensions. “This young woman did not deserve to die,” he said during the visit.

Others contended that Chavalia should not have remained on the city’s payroll while under suspension, saying the investigation would be handled differently if the shooter wasn’t a police officer or if the victim was white.

Police Chief Greg Garlock said Chavalia will remain suspended with pay. “It’s a sad day for us that one of our officers was indicted,” Garlock said.

Bill Kluge, Chavalia’s attorney, declined to comment after the hearing. Chavalia was released on a $50,000 bond.

Wilson, a mother of six, and her son, Sincere Wilson, were shot when a team of officers burst into her home looking for her boyfriend Jan. 4. The boy had a finger amputated.

Little else is known about what happened. Police have said Wilson’s 31-year-old boyfriend, who was arrested during the raid, was the target of a drug investigation. Police said crack cocaine and marijuana were found.

The shooting took place in a neighborhood pressed up against a rail yard and downwind from an oil refinery and chemical plant.

Johnny Williams, who owns carryout a few blocks from where the raid took place, said he hopes the community will come together and understand that it is leaving young people behind.

“This city needs healing,” he said. “We need to learn from it, grow from it.”