Timothy Thomas

Timothy Thomas was a 19-year old Cincinnati youth who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2001. Thomas was the fifteenth black killed by the Cincinnati Police Department in five years, and his death led to outrage in the black community that culminated with the 2001 Cincinnati Riots.
On April 8, 2001, Thomas was seen by Cincinnati police officers and recognized as being wanted on 14 outstanding warrants. When Thomas saw police officers, he fled. In a subsequent chase involving a dozen additional officers, Thomas was eventually confronted by Officer Steven Roach, in a dark alley. Roach was running with his gun out (standard procedure) but with his finger on the trigger, in opposition to gun handling procedures taught to police. Immediately after the incident, Roach said the gun had "just gone off" in his hand. Later, Roach claimed to have seen a gun, and later revised his story to claim that he only saw Thomas reaching for something at his waist, and Roach fired his gun once at Thomas.
Timothy Thomas is survived by his only child.

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