Extensions To Be Considered Each Day
CINCINNATI, 3:50 p.m. EDT April 13, 2001 -- The curfew in Cincinnati will continue Friday evening, with any extensions to the city's state of emergency to be considered on a daily basis.
The curfew will apply to the same area -- all of Cincinnati -- and between the same hours -- 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. -- that it did Thursday, Cincinnati police chief Thomas Streicher said.
City and law enforcement officials would not speculate Friday morning on whether the curfew will continue after Friday.
Streicher said that Saturday is a crucial turning point.
Large crowds are expected downtown Saturday morning and afternoon for the funeral of Timothy Thomas, the unarmed man killed by a Cincinnati police officer a week ago.
"We expect a large turnout for that," Streicher said. "We also have some intelligence information that there are going to be some large crowds around Saturday afternoon."
Officials applauded the efforts of everyone who remained calm for the first night of the city's state of emergency, during which police arrested 153 people for violating curfew.
"Last night went well beyond our expectations," Streicher said. "We had an excellent amount of voluntary compliance."
Another 54 adults were arrested for other offenses, WLWT Eyewitness News 5 reported.
Nine juveniles were also arrested, three of whom are facing charges of burglary.
The streets were virtually empty most of the evening, WLWT reported.
A few people challenged the curfew, but police officers were "pretty active" in enforcing it, Streicher said.
City officials instituted the 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew Thursday in response to protesting, looting and vandalism that began Monday afternoon and continued for three nights.
"The time has come for us to enact serious measures to deal with and quell the violence on Cincinnati streets," Cincinnati Mayor Charles Luken said. "The violence must stop, and the violence will stop."
WLWT Eyewitness News 5's Teri Barr reported that there was relatively little violence Thursday night during the citywide curfew.
Officers fired non-lethal beanbag guns several times. One person was hit with the beanbags four times and was taken to a hospital, Barr reported.
The most serious damage Thursday was the result of an arson fire set at the Redwood Deli in Kennedy Heights. Damage was estimated at $100,000, Streicher said.
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has ruled out ordering National Guard troops to Cincinnati
Luken received permission from Taft Thursday to use 120 Ohio State Highway Patrol officers on a 24-hour schedule to help keep peace in the city. The officers were in place by Thursday evening.
Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis agreed to provide deputies to patrol outlying areas while Cincinnati police officers concentrate on the areas with disturbances.
Metro buses will continue to obey the curfew, and nighttime taxi service will be suspended as well.
The curfew forced cancellation of some Easter weekend events, including a Good Friday tradition in which Roman Catholics climb the hillside steps of Immaculata Church after midnight and pause on each step to pray.
The violence, described as the worst in Cincinnati since the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968, began Monday night, three days after an unarmed black suspect was shot by a Cincinnati police officer.
Timothy Thomas, 19, was shot and killed by Officer Steven Roach, 27, near the corner of Republic and 13th streets in Over-the-Rhine after a brief foot chase.
Thomas was wanted on 14 misdemeanor warrants, including receiving stolen goods, police said. He also faced traffic violations, including driving without a license and failing to wear a seat belt.
Thomas was shot once in the chest at relatively close range by the officer, who thought that Thomas was reaching for a weapon in his waistband, according to news reports.
Thomas, who was the father of a 3-month-old son, was engaged to be married and was about to start a new job. He was the fourth black man killed by Cincinnati police since last November. Three were shot and a fourth died of asphyxiation while he was in police custody, resulting in charges against two officers.
Roach has been placed on paid administrative leave for seven days. He has not commented on what happened.
Reports of crime sprees began coming in to Cincinnati police on Monday night after a raucous City Council meeting
At least 66 people were arrested Monday night and Tuesday morning, and several dozen people were hospitalized. Windows in major stores were broken, newspaper racks and garbage cans were thrown into the streets, and a hot dog cart was overturned, WLWT reported.
The worst of the disturbances were reported Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, when stores were looted and set on fire and people were pulled from their cars and beaten, WLWT reported.
Tensions appeared to ease by Wednesday, but shortly before 11 p.m., a Cincinnati police officer was hit by gunfire near Vine and Green streets.
The bullet struck the gun belt of officer Andy Noguera and bounced off of his stomach, leaving a large bruise and a small cut. Noguera, a 12-year veteran of the force, was taken to The University Hospital as a precaution, but his injuries were not considered severe, WLWT reported. He was released Thursday.
The suspect started firing at officers and then began to run as he fired, according to Cincinnati police spokesman Lt. Ray Ruberg.
The man accused of firing at Noguera has not been caught. He was described as a 6-foot-tall black male with a heavy build, Ruberg said.
Police reported 82 arrests Wednesday night and Thursday morning. The crime also spread to other parts of the city, including University Heights, Walnut Hills, Avondale, Evanston and Norwood. Vandals also struck again in the area around Findlay Market, WLWT reported.
Thieves reportedly struck Deveroes stores on Reading Road, Race Street and Elm Street. The thieves returned after police left the scene, and there were reports of people hiding in the basement of one of the stores.
At least three people have been charged with ethnic intimidation since the violence began, WLWT reported.
On Thursday, President Bush asked Attorney General John Ashcroft to discuss ways that the government can restore calm.
"The president understands the very strong emotions involved, and he joins Cincinnati and Ohio leaders in their appeal to the people of Cincinnati for calm and a nonviolent resolution to the current situation," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
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