LIMA, Ohio - A veteran Lima police officer was indicted yesterday on misdemeanor charges for shooting a woman to death and wounding her young son during a drug raid.

The action angered relatives of the victims, stunned local police, and left the public wondering why the officer fired his gun.

"The only thing I can say is it's injustice," said Darla Jennings, whose daughter, Tarika Wilson, 26, was fatally shot by Sgt. Joseph Chavalia during a Jan. 4 drug raid at Wilson's Third Street home. Wilson was holding her 1-year-old son, Sincere, when she was shot and the gunfire wounded the young boy, whose his right index finger had to be amputated.

"I'm saying the baby's hospital bill is well over $100,000, and he can get out on $5,000?" Ms. Jennings said of the bond the officer posted yesterday to be released from jail.

Sergeant Chavalia, 52, was indicted by a special Allen County grand jury for negligent homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, and negligent assault, a third-degree misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

He pleaded not guilty yesterday during a brief arraignment before county Common Pleas Judge Richard Warren, who set bond at $50,000 but allowed the officer to post 10 percent. Sergeant Chavalia was booked at the county jail and released after posting $5,000 bond.

"They told us to wait and hold on and be calm and be patient. For what? This?" asked Ivory Austin II, Wilson's half-brother.

He said the charges were "highly minor considering he took a life. Just because he serves the law doesn't mean he's above the law."

Special Prosecutor Jeffrey Strausbaugh of Defiance County last week presented the case to the grand jury after reviewing an investigation conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. He said yesterday he could not comment on the case just yet.

"As soon as that indictment is dealt with in a court of law, I'll be free at that point to discuss any and all facts," Mr. Strausbaugh said.

While asking that people remain calm and "respect the process," Lima Mayor David Berger admitted he was frustrated that the indictment did not shed any more light on what happened the night of the shooting death.

The charges allege Sergeant Chavalia "did negligently" cause Wilson's death and "did negligently" injure her young son, but they don't state why he fired his gun at the mother and child in the first place.

"The frustration and, I think, the anxiety everyone is experiencing remains because there is not a clear picture of what transpired," Mayor Berger said. "Regardless of your feelings about the situation, all of us lack information so there is truly no satisfaction in where we're at in that it remains just a cloud of questions."

Some said they had all the facts they needed and it added up to felonious conduct.

"A man shot through a baby, killed its mother. She fell down in cold blood in front of her six children and he's now at home with a $5,000 cash bond, charged with two misdemeanors," said Jason Upthegrove, president of the Lima chapter of the NAACP. "I feel ashamed to be a part of this community, I mean I really do."

Wilson was biracial; Sergeant Chavalia is white.

Mr. Upthegrove said the grand jury's findings reflect a pervasive attitude in the community that Wilson deserved her untimely death. Her boyfriend, Anthony Terry, was the subject of the drug raid and was arrested at her home the night she was killed.

‘The ugliest day’

"This is the ugliest day in the history of Lima, bar none," Mr. Upthegrove said. "… There hasn't been a day in the history of Lima that demonstrates the cultural divide that exists here. It's beyond race. There's a lot of black leadership here that agrees with the thinking of these grand jurors. There's just a prevailing attitude in this community that people get what they deserve, irrespective of laws, irrespective of the value on life. People dole out punishment without even an inkling of a thought."

Fifth Ward Councilman Tommy Pitts, who has been critical for years of what he alleges is unequal treatment of African-Americans by Lima police, said he was not surprised by the grand jury's findings.

"These are the kinds of things we've come not to accept because we can never accept them, but these are the kinds of things we have had to try to come to grips with," Mr. Pitts said.

"We're not going to just accept this the way it's happened today. We're going to hopefully get the FBI to take this thing over or the attorney general, someone, but we're not going to just stand by and accept it the way it happened," Mr. Pitts said.

FBI spokesman Scott Wilson said the agency has nearly concluded its investigation of the case for possible civil-rights violations. Its findings will be turned over to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In Lima, no further court dates were set as Judge Warren said he would ask the Ohio Supreme Court to appoint a visiting judge in the case.

Sergeant Chavalia's attorney, Bill Kluge, said the truth about what happened Jan. 4 eventually will come out and his client will be acquitted.

"I would tell everyone to just - I hate to use the term cool your jets - but tell the family to wait, and the true facts will come out and that may be more meaningful to them than their speculation," Mr. Kluge said.

Stunned silence

Police Chief Greg Garlock reiterated his sorrow and sadness to Tarika Wilson's family, but said he was saddened too "by the indictment of one of our own." His officers were told of the indictment yesterday morning - news that was greeted with stunned silence, he said.

Sergeant Chavalia was hired by Lima police in January, 1977, and promoted to sergeant in 1990. A member of the department's SWAT team since 1986, he wrote a comprehensive use-of-force policy for Lima police in 1990.

"I have to believe this matter will be handled justly and correctly," Chief Garlock said. "I have to let the community and the Lima Police Department both know they have my continued support."

Although city officials said they were not expecting civil disobedience to break out because of the news, Chief Garlock said extra officers were working in the city and county yesterday because of a special enforcement project for St. Patrick's Day.

Mr. Kluge said Sergeant Chavalia was "doing pretty well, all things considered. There was a great show of unity [in court] today by LPD, lots of officers in attendance, not just from Lima police but from the Allen County Sheriff's Office. There's a lot of support out there."

Sergeant Chavalia remains on paid administrative leave.