The unexplained death of Roger Owensby while in police custody in early November left the city of Cincinnati stunned. But the death of another Black male 24-hours later, when police shot alleged shoplifter Jeffery Irons, had the Black community demanding a federal probe.

To make their point, local activists and residents held a rally Nov. 12 outside city hall. Like local NAACP Chapter president Dr. Milton Hinton, protesters were outraged by the deaths of two young men and unwilling to let local officials handle the matter alone. "We want the city council to call in the Justice Department for a complete and thorough investigation of the police division," Dr. Hinton told The Final Call.

In addition to the deaths, Blacks are uneasy with changing police versions of what happened in the deaths, and in one case why the man was stopped at all.

According to a coroner�s report, the 29-year-old Mr. Owensby died Nov. 7 because of "mechanical asphyxiation" which occurred while handcuffed by police. Carl Parrott Jr., the Hamilton County Coroner, explained that something external caused Mr. Owensby to suffocate such as a "choke hold that went bad" or several people "piling on" the man.

Police say they approached Mr. Owensby after he was leaving a gas station. Words were exchanged and as an officer was about to handcuff Mr. Owensby, he tried to flee. This led to a struggle before five officers took him into custody.

Eyewitness accounts of what happened differ from police reports. Several witnesses said after Mr. Owensby tried to run he stopped and turned around as if to surrender. Others say the officers tackled Mr. Owensby and choked him with a baton before putting him into the squad car. Shortly afterward, officers had Mr. Owensby out of the car and were performing CPR. It was too little too late and Mr. Owensby was pronounced dead at University Hospital.

Police official statements are still unclear as to why Mr. Owensby was detained. The first police account said the Owensby arrest was for a prior offense. Subsequent reports from District 4 officers said they recognized Mr. Owensby as someone suspected of recently assaulting a police officer. Two days later that story was changed to police reports that Mr. Owensby was not being arrested for a prior assault on a police officer.

While the community demanded to know why Mr. Owensby was arrested and what led to his death, police spokesman Lt. Ray Ruberg told the Cincinnati Post, "If we put the handcuffs on someone, that means they�re under arrest. We�re still doing interviews and such and I just don�t have that information. We don�t want to damage our investigation."

Hours after the death of Roger Owensby, police were called to a reported theft in progress at a grocery store. Store employees had approached Jeffery Irons for allegedly stealing deodorant and shaving cream. A scuffle took place and Mr. Irons fled the store, officials said. The police arrived and chased Mr. Irons down the street.

Police contend Mr. Irons grabbed a police weapon and shot Officer Timothy Pappas in the hand. That led to police firing and killing Mr. Irons.

"We don�t understand why there are so many young Black men being shot by our police department," said Rev. Aaron Greenle, president of the Baptist Ministers Conference and co-chairman of the Greater Cincinnati Faith Community Alliance.

"Roger Owensby is dead now because he was profiled�he looked like somebody they were looking for," charged Rev. Damon Lynch III, spokesman for the Cincinnati Black United Front. "The problem in America right now is that skin color has become evidence of a propensity to commit crime. That is what race profiling is about. There�s a culture in the police division, white, Black, red or yellow. It�s a paramilitary organization ... it doesn�t matter whether they�re Black officers or white officers. It�s always Black people dead," Rev. Lynch said.