Cincy Enquirer: Northside unsafe, activist says, defending carrying gun in bar

The anti-crime activist getting national attention for shooting a masked robber in a bar last week plans to defend himself by saying Northside has become so unsafe he had to carry a gun.

Hal McKinney doesn't want to besmirch the reputation of his historic city neighborhood, where he has spent countless hours walking the streets as a volunteer with Citizens on Patrol.

But as he faces charges of carrying a gun into a liquor establishment and felonious assault, it's time to tell it like it is, said his lawyer, Mark Naegel.

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"It's an example," he said, "of just living in an unsafe community."

Just the fact that a group like Citizens on Patrol exists, Naegel said, is "some testimony that there's a reason for it."

Northside's serious crime, as in most city neighborhoods, has escalated over the past several years. As of March, the neighborhood ranked ninth - out of 54 neighborhoods and other reporting areas tracked by police - in crimes like assault, robbery, burglary and murder.

Northside's Citizens on Patrol group is one of 21 in the city. Members watch for crime and are supposed to report what they see to police.

McKinney, 54, wasn't on patrol duty the night of May 8 when two men barged into Junker's Tavern with guns drawn and started taking the change customers had lying in front of them on the bar. He'd only stopped in for a few minutes - to try to persuade the bartender and patrons to join Citizens on Patrol.

Since his arrest, calls and e-mails continue to pour in from supporters across the country who have heard what happened. They want to hold him up as a hero and a lightning rod in the push to pass a concealed-carry gun law in Ohio. Many other states, including Kentucky and Indiana, have such a law.

Donations to McKinney's legal defense fund at Northside Bank continue to add up. Don Beimesche, bank vice president and cashier, couldn't give a specific figure, but said 15 to 20 donations had already come in as of Wednesday afternoon, barely 48 hours since the fund was opened.

That money is in addition to the more than $2,500 neighbors and friends already raised to get McKinney out of jail Monday.

Ohio's law that prohibits carrying a gun into a liquor establishment allows for a defense in which a defendant admits he committed the crime, but for a reason. Those reasons include that the gun was kept "ready at hand for defensive purposes'' by a prudent person with "reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack.''

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Click here to read about how Cincinnati's crime wave is spiraling out of control.