Police fatally shoot man they say pointed weapon at officers

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

Two officers fatally shot a robbery suspect who pointed a weapon later determined to be a BB pistol at them, a police chief said Tuesday.

Robert Tenbrink, suspected in robberies reported earlier Monday at two stores in the area, was hit at least once, in the face, and died at the scene, said Eliot Isaac, the Cincinnati police chief.

The officers confronted the 45-year-old Tenbrink on Monday night down the street from the Walgreens and Deals stores where employees reported a man pointed a gun at them and demanded money from their cash registers, Isaac said. He said Tenbrink, of Cincinnati, matched the description given by employees of a man in a dark coat and plaid pants.

In audio from the shooting scene, officers are heard telling Tenbrink to put up his hands. Tenbrink pointed his realistic-looking weapon at the officers and apparently didn’t respond verbally, Isaac said. The chief said Tenbrink had undergone a tracheotomy and might not have been able to communicate clearly.