Prosecutor: Officer not reckless in Washington Park death

CINCINNATI - Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said a Cincinnati police officer was "not reckless" and will not be charged with a felony for driving his cruiser over a woman sleeping in an Over-the-Rhine park. It's sparking outrage among the homeless community.

Joann Burton, 48, died from her injuries in the July incident.

The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless said it's upset no one will face felony charges for Burton's death, after a report on the fatal incident by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Coalition director Josh Spring said any other person who did the same thing in another park would face criminal charges for the death of someone they ran over.

"To hear that one us can be run over killed and there's no criminal consequence, that hits really hard," said Spring.

Although Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters called the incident "a horrible accident," he told reporters on Thursday that he saw no evidence that Officer Marty Polk, 53, was reckless or even negligent in driving his police cruiser over blankets in a grassy area of the urban park.

"For this to be a felony, Officer Polk's actions had to be a reckless act. It is very clear from this report Officer Polk was not reckless," said Deters.

Burton was trying to sleep under those blankets when the incident occurred on July 27.

Deters said the situation is different for a police officer on patrol than it would be for a private citizen.

"There are areas of the park at least by the report the officers are unable to observe and patrol," said Deters. "Some of the paved areas don't go back far enough so that's why he was off of that."

The Ohio State Highway Patrol released its findings on Thursday.

The report also said Polk tested negative for any alcohol or drugs in his system after the incident.

Polk gave a statement to investigators shortly after the accident took place.

"He thought he moved far enough to the left to go around those blankets as he continued forward he felt what he described as two thumps and then immediately jumped out of his car to investigate what it was and saw Ms. Burton lying on the ground," said Sgt. Matt Hamilton with Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The report stated that several witnesses told troopers it was not possible to tell by looking at the blankets that anyone was under them.

The prosecutor's findings upset Joann Burton's family, who Spring said, feels Officer Polk was reckless and negligent in where he drove his cruiser. Spring said family members want someone to take responsibility for their mother's death.

"The fact is if the Cincinnati police officer had not broken rules, had not disregarded the people around him, Ms. Joann Burton, loved by family and friends would still be alive," said Spring.

The president of the Cincinnati NAACP, Christopher Smitherman, also said he strongly disagrees with both the decisions by the Highway Patrol and the Prosecutor. He said, "if a police officer had run over a white woman, the decision would be homicide."

Deters said that's not true. He added that Smitherman would have criticized the Prosecutor's Office no matter what decision it had made in handling the case.

Cincinnati Police spokeswoman Sgt. Danita Kilgore said the department has no set policy on how officers should drive through grassy, public park areas. However, homeless advocates dispute that, saying the policy they were told about requires that officers in cruisers only drive over grassy park areas in an emergency, and have their flashing lights and dashboard cameras activated. Those advocates say Officer Polk did not have his lights flashing or his dash camera running when he ran over Burton.

The Homeless Coalition said it will use an already scheduled Washington Park demonstration Friday afternoon to show their community's strong reaction to the lack of felony charges against Officer Polk.

It will start Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. at 14th and Race Streets at Washington Park.

The OSP report on the incident now goes to the Cincinnati Solicitor's Office to decide if there is a case for any misdemeanor negligence charges against Polk. A spokesman for the office tells 9 News, that it may be sometime next week before a decision can be made on whether to prosecute.

Officer Polk remains on personal leave from Cincinnati Police, as he has been since the July incident.

Stay with 9 News and WCPO.com for continuing coverage of reaction to the OSP report on the death of Joann Burton.