Print |
E-mail to a friend
OHIO NEWS
Candlelight vigil held to honor victim
Family, friends, and concerned community members participate in a candlelight vigil on Washington Street in Ironton on Monday in memory of Guy Thomas. Thomas died Saturday after being struck by an Ironton police cruiser.
Purchase this photoRelated:
IRONTON -- About 200 friends and relatives of Guy Thomas took to the streets Monday night in a vigil for the Ironton man who died over the weekend and was dragged about 10 blocks beneath an Ironton Police Department cruiser.
Dozens of people participated in the nonviolent, candlelight march from South 9th and Jefferson to Kingsbury Elementary School where people reminisced about the 46-year-old man who reportedly was struck by a city police cruiser driven by Patrolman Richard Fouts, a police officer in Ironton for the past two months. Fouts has been placed on paid, administrative leave pending the results of an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Investigation and Identification.
Thomas, of 914 S. 9th St., served in the U.S. Navy in 1982-83, according to his aunt, LouVerne Miller. "He was a lovely boy," she said. "He was never in trouble."
Her husband, Horace Miller, called for a nonviolent protest, but also said friends, relatives and the community were owed answers to how Thomas died.
"We are doing this for Guy," he said. "We are doing this to show we are in love with our nephew. I don't want this to get out of hand. We are not here to get up a vendetta against the police department."
Susan Taylor, an Ironton resident called Thomas a "fine, loving person. He was my cousin. It was going to be a laugh if you were around. We grew up together. He was fun-loving."
"There's no explanation for this," Taylor said. "There's no excuse. This was not excusable. That police car belongs to the citizens of Ironton."
James Murphy, another Ironton resident, said Fouts "should be in jail right now. It was a hit and run. If I did it, I would be in jail."
"We'll get through this," said Rodney Cameron, Guy's cousin. "The truth will come out. We need to be above what the law was. We need to keep the faith and stay strong."
Dallas Thomas, an Ashland resident, said his nephew "didn't cause anybody any problems. We'll miss him."
An autopsy is scheduled Tuesday morning in Columbus. Preliminary results could be available later this week, said Lawrence County Coroner Burton Payne.
