FATAL RAID ANGERS ATTORNEY, RESIDENTS

150 People Attend Forum In Belpre

Critics say deputies overreacted when they killed a man during a drug raid
in Belpre.

BELPRE, Ohio -- The sentiments of angry residents who jammed into a local
church this week to question tactics in a fatal sheriff's raid were echoed
yesterday by the Washington County public defender.

Janet Fogle McKim said she believes the Oct. 15 shooting death of
57-year-old retired school custodian Delbert Bonar in his rural home near
Belpre is part of an ongoing overreaction of local police forces cracking
down on illegal drug use.

"I know people want to stop crime, but if we give up our civil liberties,
none of us will have any civil liberties. We make a mistake in calling this
a 'war on drugs,' '' she said yesterday, a day after law enforcement
officials faced a meeting of more than 150 skeptical and angry citizens at
a community forum.

Officials took the unusual measure of hosting the forum because they said
they feared inaccurate information about the raid was being disseminated in
the community.

McKim said authorities are frustrated about their inability to solve drug
dependency -- a medical problem -- with police tactics.

As a result, she said, privacy is diminished in the United States. Some
judges are not rigorous enough in their review of search warrant requests
and allow police to use "boiler plate'' descriptions to justify warrants,
she said.

In Delbert Bonar's case, the search warrant Washington County deputies
executed at his home north of Belpre, 120 miles southeast of Columbus, was
aimed at his son, Albert, 33. An informant had said deputies would find
large quantities of marijuana and stolen weapons. Instead, they found an
ounce or two of marijuana and no stolen weapons.

The surprise nighttime entry prompted Delbert Bonar to grab an unloaded
shotgun, point it at deputies and refuse to put it down, deputies said.
Sgt. William Wilson and Capt. Chris Forshey shot him eight times.

"There is absolutely no right of privacy left in your auto and very little
left in your home,'' McKim said.

But Sheriff Robert R. Schlicher said yesterday there are checks to protect
citizens.

"I believe very strongly in people's rights to live in neighborhoods free
of drugs,'' he said. "I like restrictions placed on law enforcement. We
have to go through so many checks and balances to obtain a search warrant.''

Albert Bonar has not been charged. He said he has smoked marijuana, but he
denied selling it or possessing stolen guns. He has no previous record,
authorities said.

Forshey said he feared for his life the night of the raid.

"I believed he was going to shoot one of the other (deputies) or myself,''
Forshey said Monday after the forum at St. Mark's Church.

Bonar also may have been fearful, a feeling that could have been heightened
by what friends and family members described as poor eyesight.

"He wore thick lenses. If his glasses were off, he would see a blur,'' said
Jenny McWilliams, a niece of Bonar's.

Forshey declined to say whether Delbert Bonar was wearing his glasses when
he was shot.

At Monday's public forum, Schlicher and Prosecutor Michael Spahr faced the
group of 150 residents with concerns about the way deputies handled the
raid on Bonar's home.

Ray Kidder, a neighbor of Delbert Bonar's, was one of a number of people at
the meeting who believe Bonar thought he was defending his home.

"Officers have to protect themselves, but when they go in, they must know
that a person is going to defend his house,'' said Kidder, who added that
many area residents legally own weapons.

Many at the forum expressed concern with the number of times Delbert Bonar
was shot.

"I'm a combat veteran from Vietnam. We never wasted that many bullets on
one guy over there,'' said Randy Sims of Belpre.

Schlicher said deputies are trained to fire until the threat they face is
eliminated.

Schlicher said yesterday his department would continue to review the
operation.

Checked-by: Richard Lake