A Community Mourns:

HUNDREDS GATHER AT MEMORIAL FOR LIMA WOMAN SHOT BY POLICE

LIMA, Ohio -- Darla Jennings held each of her young grandchildren up
to the pink casket where their mother lay so they could give her a
final kiss good-bye.

Tarika Wilson, 26, who was shot to death by police during a drug raid
at her home Jan. 4, was laid to rest yesterday after a two-hour
memorial service at Grace Church Worldwide Ministries where more than
300 people filled the pews.

As family members streamed in to pay their respects before the casket
was closed, Elder Ronald Fails recited Scripture and encouragement:
"Death is not the end of life. It is not the conclusion. It is really
the beginning. We thank God that he delivers hope even in the midst of
our sorrow."

Mr. Fails and other local clergy spent much of the service calling on
the community to come together, to heal, and to work together to solve
its problems.

"I want to pray that God will reconcile the community -- it's not just
the family," he said. "It's the whole community, and when we talk
about the community it's important that we take this out of the realm
of black and white. This is not just an issue of black and white."

Mr. Fails said regardless of Wilson's color, "We cannot allow the
enemy to divide us on the basis of color. Every time something
happens, we go there. That is not to suggest there are not problems
and challenges. There will always be problems and challenges, but
together we stand. Divided we fall."

City police have provided few details about what happened after its
SWAT team raided Wilson's East Third Street house and arrested her
boyfriend, Anthony Terry, on drug charges.

At some point in the raid, officers shot two pit bull dogs in the
home, and Sgt. Joseph Chavalia fatally shot Wilson as she was holding
her 14-month-old son, Sincere Wilson. The wounded toddler underwent
surgery on his arm and his index finger was amputated.

On Thursday, Terry, 31, was indicted by an Allen County grand jury on
three counts of trafficking in crack cocaine, four counts of
trafficking in marijuana, and six counts of permitting drug abuse
stemming from incidents that occurred between September, 2007, and
Jan. 4, the day of the raid.

Separate from the drug investigation by police, the FBI, the Ohio
Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and special
prosecutor Jeff Strausbaugh were called in to investigate the
shooting, which has raised tensions in Lima and prompted accusations
that police target African-Americans.

While no one from the police department could be seen at Wilson's
funeral, both Lima Mayor David Berger and council President John Nixon
attended, as did Allen County Sheriff Dan Beck.

Councilman Tommy Pitts, who is a minister, spoke briefly during the
service, saying he hoped that after the dust had settled, the truth
would come out.

"You better believe I'm going to stay on top of this," Mr. Pitts said.
"The devil did this thing, but God is going to turn it around. He's
going to turn it around. He is going to turn it around."

At one point in the lengthy service, Wilson's mother and some other
family members walked out of the church. An angry Ms. Jennings said
the service was too long for the children and was focused on politics,
not on her daughter.

Later, during his eulogy, Mr. Fails said that while Wilson was not a
member of his church, he heard from everyone he spoke to about her
that she loved her children and took good care of them.

He encouraged those attending the service to not "get stuck on" the
tragic incident.

"If you get stuck on this one incident, you will miss all of the
issues that ignited this one incident and you will miss your
opportunity to change," he said, adding, "Change must come."

After the service, Sheriff Beck called the shooting "a terrible,
terrible tragedy."

He said the city has had serious problems for years that are evidenced
by the disproportionate number of minorities who are arrested every
year compared with the number of whites.

He said Lima police do not target the black community, although the
department has remained focused on going after crack cocaine dealers,
many of whom are African-American, rather than the largely white
customer base that buys the drug.

"We have got to get back to doing what law enforcement is supposed to
do," the sheriff said. "We need to enforce the law equally."

Mr. Fails said some in the community feared there would be "mayhem in
the church" during Wilson's wake on Thursday and suggested that police
or sheriff's deputies be brought in to provide security.

He said he did not feel that was necessary and, in the end, it was
not.

"We're not going to burn the courthouse down. We're not going to burn
our own house down, but we're going to bind together as one people.
Together we stand. Divided we fall," he said to loud applause.