A Roanoke community activist who compared a city police officer's shooting of a teenager with the actions of a Ku Klux Klansman must pay the officer $5,000 for defamation, a judge said Thursday.

Judge John Quigley, who heard the case in Roanoke County General District Court, took just 35 minutes to hear the evidence and decide that Shaheed Omar, a frequent critic of the police department, defamed Officer Jason Hicks by saying at a city council meeting that the officer had been wanting to shoot someone.

Quigley, a retired judge from Radford who hears cases as a substitute judge, was appointed after Roanoke judges recused themselves because of Hicks' position as a police officer.

"It was one of those short, sweet, and interesting ones," said Hicks' attorney, Gary Lumsden of Roanoke. Lumsden said Hicks would have no comment on the case pending a possible appeal by Omar.

Omar's attorney, Tommy Strelka of Roanoke, called the ruling "very disappointing" and said he hoped to have a chance to argue during an appeal that the Constitution's guarantee of free speech protects Omar.

"Mr. Omar has the right to comment -- and criticize the police department of his community," Strelka said.

Strelka and Omar said after the hearing that an appeal depends whether Omar can raise $5,000 needed as a bond before filing.

As for paying Hicks, Omar wrote in an e-mail Thursday evening, "I will die before I give him a dime. He just got me started!"

The only evidence at the brief trial was Hicks' testimony that he'd been embarrassed by Omar's words and a videotape of the January council meeting where Omar spoke.

"He is acting no different than members of the Klan did years ago," Omar said at the meeting, referring to Hicks. "The only difference is that he and his other buddies have uniforms on now that provide them with legal cover as opposed to the white sheets. ... He's been wanting to shoot someone for a long time. Well, he finally has."

Lumsden called Omar to the witness stand, but Omar cited the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and did not testify.

"We didn't enter any evidence," Strelka said, "because it's my belief we didn't need to."

Another Roanoke officer sued a critic in 1995. In that case, an officer who was accused of using excessive force, then cleared, filed a lawsuit against his accuser and won $2,500.

Omar's comments at the city council meeting followed the December death of Raheim Alleyne, a 19-year-old suspect in a home invasion. Alleyne ran from officers, then opened fire as they closed in, a review by the Roanoke commonwealth's attorney determined. Hicks, who is white, shot and killed Alleyne, who was black. The commonwealth's attorney said the shooting was justified.

Omar, 60, is an outspoken foe of many police and prison practices. He bombards state officials with letters about the treatment of prisoners and frequently speaks to the city council about conditions in the Roanoke jail or the actions of police officers.

Omar's defense was coordinated by the Rutherford Institute, a Charlottesville legal organization that works on civil liberties cases. Strelka said he is discussing the case with the institute to see if it or another civil liberties group might put up Omar's appeal bond.