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Officer-Involved Shootings Article

July 14, 2008

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'Supercop' braces for criticism after shooting

Related article: Off-duty Ohio 'supercop' kills robber

By Jim Nichols
The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — One day after killing his fifth crime suspect, Cleveland police officer Jim Simone says he is neither a trigger-happy rogue cop nor a hero.

He says he is only a police officer who, by God's will and duty's call, keeps landing in situations that require him to use deadly force.

During his 35-year career, Simone had shot at 11 other suspects, and killed four, before Wednesday. That's when he chased down and shot fleeing bank-robbery suspect Robert Hackworth, 35.

"There is no glory or honor in taking another person's life," Simone, 60, said in a 30-minute interview with The Plain Dealer. "Contrary to what people believe, these [shootings] are not the highlights of my career. These are the low spots."

A woman who answered the phone at Hackworth's Old Brooklyn home said his family didn't want to comment.

Simone is among the most famous, and most polarizing, officers in the city's history. His widely known nickname: "Supercop."

Twice he has been shot on duty. He has been stabbed and hit by cars with fleeing thugs at the wheel. He has a host of awards for valor. And he annually ranks among the top Cleveland patrol officers in arrests and traffic citations.

Simone believes he ranks near or at the top of all police officers nationwide in the number of career shootings and killings, although it appears no one keeps such statistics. He knows he's a target for criticism and is branded, he said, as "a gunfighter."

"I don't understand why God puts me in these situations."

Simone's string of shootings stands out even to those who study and research police-involved shootings.

Michael Scott, a University of Wisconsin law professor who co-authored a 1992 book on police shootings, said the "vast majority" of officers never fire their weapon in their career.

"That's up there," Scott said of Simone's growing tally.

"That's about as high as I've ever heard. I've heard of officers being involved in six or seven in their career, but not that many."

Simone said he wishes none of the shootings had happened. He said he anguished and lost sleep after each one, knowing victims' blameless friends and family cry in pain. He knows he will be second-guessed, again.

But, he said, he never wavers in the belief that each was justified.

"I feel bad that people were hurt. But I didn't set up the scenarios. . . . People who commit violent acts have to deal with the consequences." "I'm a Christian. I don't ever want to hurt anybody," Simone added. "I don't understand why God puts me in these situations - I'll never understand that. But I'm a good man, and a good police officer."

Simone is on three days of paid leave and will be assigned to tend the police gym for up to 45 days while Cleveland detectives investigate the shooting, said Lt. Thomas Stacho, a police spokesman.

Ultimately, city prosecutors will recommend whether a grand jury should consider charges against Simone.

Hackworth had had 10 felony charges filed against him dating to 1989, and he had done prison time for a variety of theft and drug offenses.

Police and witnesses said Simone, off duty, walked into a KeyBank branch on Fulton Road at Memphis Avenue to cash his paycheck about 3:30 p.m.

Just then, a robber who had claimed to have a gun ran out. As Simone ran after the man, a woman driving past called him into her car and drove Simone after Hackworth.

Witnesses told police that Hackworth stopped by a getaway truck he had left idling on West 52nd Street; Simone jumped out of the car, identified himself as an officer and ordered Hackworth to freeze.

Instead, Hackworth climbed into the truck and reached down, police said. Simone shot him in the side.

The truck lumbered about a block, then bumped into a utility pole. Simone yanked Hackworth out.

Courts have ruled it acceptable for police to use deadly force against a threatening suspect or one fleeing from a felony involving serious physical harm or a threat of it.

Simone said the department forbids him from talking about the case's specifics. But, he said, "Fear will make you respond."