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From the January 24, 2003 print edition 'There is a real battle going on'Doctors, execs push city for answers to violencePaula Christian and Andrea Tortora Courier Staff Reporters
Gun violence on Cincinnati streets has become so severe that everyone from doctors to business leaders are questioning what the city is prepared to do about it.
Trauma surgeons Drs. Jay Johannigman and Ken Davis said the 224 percent increase in the number of patients with gunshot wounds at University Hospital between 2000 and 2002 proves something needs to be done to stop drug- and gang-related violence.
"Something is going on in these neighborhoods," Johannigman said. "People say we're not L.A. or St. Louis, but it's becoming as bad as those areas."
The doctors said many of these injuries can be prevented or avoided, if only those involved knew more about the consequences of violence and the finality of death. And for the first time, these doctors are talking to politicians, community leaders and "anyone who will listen" about the bloodshed from certain communities.
And so the doctors are pushing politicians and business leaders to start a violence prevention program. They are presenting emergency room statistics to community groups, asking for help.
Most local shootings involve blacks, particularly men between the ages of 16 and 45, the doctor said. But the effects of crime are far-reaching.
Jeff Recker was headed to a holiday party after work in December when he noticed that his car, a Toyota Avalon he always parked near his office in Over-the-Rhine, was missing.
Three days later, police found the car abandoned. It had been ransacked, trashed and needed $4,000 worth of repairs. Police never found the culprit and closed the case last week.
A week later, his rental car was broken into, the windows smashed and his coat stolen.
Now Recker, an entrepreneur who started PlusSize.com, is having second thoughts about staying in Over-the-Rhine.
"What's the reason to stay if you don't get any protection?" he said. "It's difficult for us to get vendors to drop off simple units like telephones because they don't want to come down here. And I don't blame them."
It also is a concern for Arn Bortz, former city mayor and CEO of Towne Properties, which owns downtown rental property.
"Street crime is a concern for all of us who care about this city," he said "There is a real battle going on right now between the thugs and the good people of this community in many neighborhoods, including downtown."
On a recent night in December, two brothers were rushed into University Hospital's emergency room with gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen. Both needed operations.
A few nights later, the ER was inundated with people riddled with gunshot wounds: a wife and husband both shot in the abdomen and a young man with bullets in his chest. All three were rushed into the OR at the same time. A fourth woman was shot to death at the scene.
"We don't want to patch them up, send them back out there and wait for them to come back," Davis said.
The two doctors are in the early stages of meeting with city and community leaders. So far no easy answers have emerged.
Violent crime in Cincinnati has risen 42 percent since 1999. This is a remarkable jump considering that arrests during that same period dropped 30 percent in the city.
Last year, a gun was used 972 times 2.7 times a day to commit a violent crime, according to police. The city saw 65 murders, the highest since 1987.
Police believe they are seeing the aftershocks of the April 2001 riots. They admit that some officers backed off from aggressive crime-fighting, after seeing many of their own punished for what they saw as simply doing their jobs. It left a void that criminals, mainly drug dealers, began filling.
"Let's face it, we had a riot a few years ago, and there was a certain feeling with criminals that they had an opportunity to expand their drug enterprise,'' said Cincinnati police Lt. Kurt Byrd, spokesman for the department. "Some depolicing occurred after the riots, yes, we don't deny that."
The Cincinnati Fire Department also is feeling the effects. In 2000, the latest statistics available, there were 500 ambulance runs for shooting victims, which Chief Robert Wright said is drastically higher than past years.
"There are quite a few lawless individuals with guns in their hands, and that problem has to be solved by policymakers, people in the medical field, those in social work and people in the community," Wright said.
"I just hope someone finds a way to break the cycle before Cincinnati takes on a reputation like Detroit."
Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen hears about crime from just about everyone he sees, including his 72-year-old mother.
He said his mother used to love coming downtown. Now she won't venture into the city because she is worried about crime.
"A lot of people have that sentiment, unfortunately,'' Allen said.
When ordinary people become so worried about crime that they actually change their behavior, then it has become a real community issue, said James Frank, associate professor of criminology at the University of Cincinnati.
"It rises to a certain level when people believe crime has interfered with their daily lives,'' Frank said. "That's when people begin to act. You have a choice. You can move or you can do something about it."
In Walnut Hills, Craig Maier, CEO of Frisch's Restaurants, said he can see drug activity from his office windows.
"They are ruining our area with the drug violence," Maier said. "If the police arrest them and the judges don't put them in jail, it will just continue. You can't change them. We need to make them go away, otherwise they will pollute the community."
Trauma surgeons just see gunshot wounds, but police have realized the locations of bullet holes carry a deeper meaning.
Often, drug dealers are shot in the arms, legs, feet or buttocks. They contain messages from their assailants, Byrd said, "I'm not shooting to kill you, but here's something to remember me by."
The shootings are often the result of battles over drug turf or robberies of drug dealers, who always carry cash and drugs.
Because most victims are young, doctors doubt they realize the finality of death, or life in prison, or life spent in a nursing home because of paralyzing injuries, Davis said.
He hopes to work with school districts and others on conflict resolution and life-choice decisions. So far, the doctors have been frustrated by the lack of community outrage over the violence.
The growing violence is an issue that needs solutions from the entire community, said Mayor Charlie Luken.
"We are engaged at every level in the fight against violence and crime," Luken said. "I'm trying. But it is my problem. It is (the doctors') problem. It's everybody's problem."
Allen lays the blame for the problems squarely on city hall. He believes the city's lack of support for police after the riots created a feeling of "anything goes" among criminals.
"Instead of social condemnation, you had politicians falling all over themselves to appease certain groups,'' he said. "It's open season on the police, and that's the message many members of city hall are sending."
De Asa Brown, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce, said "We have to police ourselves and work in partnership with Cincinnati police. This is no longer only a police issue."
She is meeting Jan. 28 with doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center to talk about preventing violence. The African American Chamber is also participating in the Moratorium on Violence, sponsored by the Peace Down the Way Coalition.
In the wake of the riots, the department formed the violent crime task force. In coming months, the task force will be conducting neighborhood sweeps and mass arrests.
Meanwhile the police are taking steps to improve morale. Chief Tom Streicher is attending every in-service training to talk with officers about their concerns and assure them that the department stands behind them.
In the wake of the riots, the department formed the violent crime task force. In coming months, the force will conduct neighborhood sweeps and mass arrests.
Byrd hopes violent crime will level off in 2003 and perhaps even decrease. "It's time for the good people of this town to declare war on the thugs," Bortz said. © 2003 American City Business Journals Inc. ![]() |
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