Chavalia verdict: Outraged, but ‘not surprised’

LIMA - When the news of the jury's verdicts reached the relatively calm atmosphere outside the Allen County courthouse Monday afternoon, it quickly changed as several people expressed outrage, sorrow and disbelief.

Among the frenzied cries from the crowd outside, one woman carrying a protest sign shouted to people driving by on North Main Street.

"Not guilty," yelled the woman, who identified herself as Maria Williams. "What's this world coming to? This is the justice center, but there's no justice here. ... Another police acquittal. He killed that mother. He shot her and her child. This is just great."

Meanwhile, several family members erupted in tears from across the street after hearing the verdicts in the state's case against Lima Police Department Sgt. Joe Chavalia, who shot and killed Tarika Wilson during a police drug raid Jan. 4. Chavalia is white while Wilson was biracial.

As drivers went by, honked their horns and yelled, some of those gathered cursed while others waited for Chavalia to exit the court from the front, although he did not.

Among numerous police officers in vehicles, on bikes and on foot across the street, Lima Police Chief Greg Garlock stood outside.

"We've had members of our community called to jury duty," Garlock said. "Obviously, they've rendered their verdict and that's all we could have asked for: A fair, concise and attentive look at the evidence. ... They paid attention, they listened and this is what they've rendered."

Garlock said he felt "justice was accomplished."

"I don't think any of us are pleased with the fact that this whole incident occurred and the impact it's had on the family and others," he said. "I am glad we were able to get through this in a positive way. It's still going to be a situation, a tough situation the community is going to have to deal with."

While speaking to the media, Wilson's brother, Ivory Austin II, yelled across the street at Garlock, calling him a killer.

"You feel good, don't you?" Austin yelled. "Police bring death."

Later, Austin slammed city administrators, including Mayor David Berger by name.

"Berger don't care about black folk," he said. "When was he ever on the side with the community?"

Near Austin and other family members, Jason Upthegrove, president of the local chapter of the National Assocation for the Advancement of Colored People, said the community is fractured but it was fractured before the Jan. 4 shooting on East Third Street.

"This was a foregone conclusion," Upthegrove said. "Hopefully the FBI will pick it up. As a community, we've got to move on. ... We've got to do better than what we're doing."

Upthegrove also said he is saddened by the "minds of the jurors."

"I wonder what case they were listening to," he said. "It was undisputable. It was so crystal clear as to what happened inside that house. ... I left that courtroom, after closing arguments, saying there's no way they're going to find him guilty, just looking at the lifeless faces of the jurors and how desensitized they were to the horror that was described. ... As a community, we have to do whatever we can do now. ... People are going to want to stand up and protest. You're going to have the so-called leadership now wanting to have press conferences and have discussions. ... But they didn't want to come out and support this family."

Allen County Sheriff Dan Beck said the verdicts would affect the community for a long time.

"With the verdicts, there are going to be a lot of different viewpoints on this in the community, this week and over the next months," Beck said. "However, whether we agree with the verdicts or not, we have to remember this is the system and we've got to honor the system and try to work through these problems."

Because of the outcome of the case, Beck said his office increased patrols overnight and would decide in the coming days and weeks whether to maintain that increase depending on how people react.

Lima City Councilman Tommy Pitts, like others, said he was not surprised by the outcome and he believed Wilson's death could have been avoided.

"When I think about things that have happened in this city, I can say I expected this to happen," Pitts said. "People are tired of it. ... African-Americans get prison sentences two to three times longer than whites."

Pitts said detectives working drug cases make far more drug buys from black suspects than from white suspects and this case is an example of that.

"If they'd arrested Anthony Terry [the target of the raid], Tarika Wilson would still be alive," Pitts said. "They purchased from him seven times before they arrested him and they could have arrested him earlier that day."

The Rev. Arnold Manley, of Pilgrim Rest Church on South Union Street, discussed his outrage outside the courthouse and said as a black pastor, he and other pastors are always telling people to have faith in the system.

"This is what we get in return," Manley said in disgust. "And he [Chavalia] was only facing misdemeanors. He should have had some God in him and said: ‘You know what, I am sorry and I made a mistake. I really didn't mean to kill her.' Now you have a family that's going to be torn up. And, with him being found not guilty, he's going to be on the Police Department tomorrow. Now, how do I go out into the streets and the black the community and tell my brothers, ‘Let the law prevail?' How do I tell them that when the law won't even handle their own?"

The Rev. LaMont Monford Sr., pastor of Philippian Missionary Baptist Church, said several local pastors met Monday night to schedule a news conference for sometime today. Later, however, he said they decided against the conference and instead issued a written statement that said, in part: "The one unanimous conclusion was that we were grossly disappointed, but not surprised by the verdict. The justice system does not work for all people in our community and it is time for change. ... We will continue to pursue justice and righteousness by forming a coalition for change. We need a new direction and together we can change our community."

"Do I think there's going to be violence in the community?" Monford asked. "No. We understand the importance of rebuilding the community. However, the reality is there are some serious issues that need to be addressed."