SUSPECT'S DEATH DEMANDS FULL PROBE

Our position: An autopsy report gives answers and raises questions about
the death of a man in police patrol wagon.

Authorities need to ask some hard questions about the case of Calvin Cole,
who died under suspicious circumstances during his arrest March 6.

An autopsy released last week showed that Cole, 27, died of "blunt force
trauma." The arresting officers say he may have been injured when he fell
while fleeing, while critics allege that police were responsible.

The critical next step is to find the truth.

Here's what police say occurred when they attempted to pull over a car
about 11 p.m. on suspicion of speeding in the 4400 block of East Washington
Street:

The suspect got out of the car and ran about two blocks before police could
catch up with him. A scuffle ensued and Indianapolis Police Officer Morton
Gallagher, who was aided by another officer and an unidentified citizen,
sprayed a chemical in Cole's face to subdue him. Cole was handcuffed, put
in a patrol wagon and taken to Methodist Hospital, where police opened the
rear door of the vehicle to remove him and found him unresponsive.
Initially, officials suspected a cocaine overdose.

Among questions yet to be answered publicly:

Gallagher's report said the suspect fell three times in the two blocks he
ran from police. Could the injuries to his head have been suffered in the
falls? Were there any other witnesses to the arrest? Has the citizen who
joined police at the scene been identified and questioned?

Anytime a suspect dies in police custody, the incident deserves extra scrutiny.

Because Cole was an African American, the case has raised concern among his
relatives and some civil rights leaders who put little faith in the police
version of the arrest. There has been talk of staging protests against
police, reminiscent of the rallies held to protest the death of teen-ager
Michael Taylor, who police said shot himself in the head while handcuffed
in the back of a Police Department cruiser in 1987.

So far, authorities seem committed to find out what caused Cole to die in
the back of a patrol wagon on the way to the hospital.

The FBI and Marion County Prosecutor's Office have promised to review the
incident and the Justice Department has been notified. A second independent
autopsy is under way. The public should withhold judgment until these
investigations are complete.