U.S.

Cincinnati Remains Calm

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

May 7, 2001 / 8:35 AM EDT / CBS

Aside from a minor protest downtown and a few isolated incidents, peace prevailed in Cincinnati Tuesday following the misdemeanor indictment of a white policeman in the killing of a black man, an incident which set off widespread violence last month.

"Obviously cooler heads prevailed," said Mayor Charles Luken, commenting on conditions in the aftermath of Monday's closely watched and potentially incendiary indictment announcement.

He praised black clergymen, representatives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and staffers from the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission for helping to maintain order.

About 20 black people showed up for an impromptu protest downtown complaining that the police officer, Stephen Roach, 27, deserved harsher treatment; but officials turned them away from Fountain Square and the lunch hour crowd gathered there, telling them they had failed to obtain a permit for a rally.

"We're not planning to tear up anything," said Brutus White, one of the demonstrators. The group left peacefully.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen on Monday revealed the findings of a nine-member grand jury investigating the April 7 actions of Roach in shooting Timothy Thomas, 19, an unarmed black man.

Some Major American Riots

Draft Riots
New York City
July 13–16, 1863
Up to $2 million damage was caused by whites who violently opposed the Civil War and especially the draft.

Haymarket Square Riot
Chicago
May 4, 1886
Eleven were killed and 100 wounded when police clashed with labor activists and anarchists.

Zoot Suit Riots
Los Angeles
June, 1943
American sailors rampaged through LA's Mexican community for four nights, brutally attacking young men wearing the flashy "zoot suits" of the day.

Watts Riots
Los Angeles
August, 1965
A traffic stop and accusations of police brutality touched off six days of rioting in which 34 people died.

MLK Riots
April, 1968
The assassination of the civil rights leader led to unrest in several cities, including Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Newark, and Washington, D.C.

Attica Prison Riot
Attica, N.Y.
September, 1971
A four-day uprising by inmates who took over part of the complex and held several staff members hostage ended when guards stormed the prison. A total of 42 people, including 10 hostages, wer killed.

L.A. Riots
April, 1992
Fifty-four people died in rioting over a jury's acquittal of four police officers charged with beating Rodney King.

WTO Demonstrations
Seattle
November-December, 1999
Police made over 600 arrests during sometimes violent protests at a conference of the World Trade Organization.

Roach could have been charged with crimes ranging from murder to involuntary manslaughter to negligent homicide, or the panel could have opted not to hand up any indictments.

The grand jury charged Roach with negligent homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, and obstructing official business, a second-degree misdemeanor that carries a possible 90-day sentence.

Thomas, wanted on 14 misdemeanor warrants, was slain as he fled police on April 7. Roach was part of the chase that led into a dark alley, and says he thought Thomas had a gun when he shot and killed him.

"I think the grand jury made the right call in this case," Allen said. He pointed out that Thomas disobeyed orders by the police to stop, had his hands near his waistband holding his pants up as he ran and met Roach in a dark alley in the early morning.

Allen said the grand jury heard from 20 witnesses, including the dead man's mother, officers on the scene, investigators, eyewitnesses to the chase, and firearms expert. They also saw aerial and ground-level photos of the secne and heard testimony on police weapons and training

Of those who had called for stiffer charges, Allen said, "it's very important to point out that none of these people had an opportunity to see all of the facts surrounding this incident."

Angela Leisure, mother of the victim, denounced the indictments as "a slap on the wrist." She said she felt "borderline rage" over the jurors' failure to indict on more serious charges, but also called for continued calm.

Roach, 27, a police officer since 1997, is on paid leave and has not commented publicly on the shooting.

The U.S. Justice Department Monday announced a probe into the city's police practices, with officials saying the department timed the announcement to coincide with the grand jury decision and possibly defuse tensions in the city.

But as night fell Monday, there were only scattered reports of broken windows downtown, where some businesses had boarded up in case of new violence. And a group of protesters chanting, "No justice, no peace" marched on police headquarters as mounted officers in riot gear looked on. The protesters dispersed after an hour.

Thomas was the 15th black crime suspect to be killed by Cincinnati police since 1995. During the same period, police killed no white suspects. Cincinnati has a population of about 300,000, of which 43 percent is black.

The shooting brought to a boil questions over whether city police unfairly target blacks, an issue that has become increasingly prominent in the United tates in the past few years.

The incident touched off three nights of violence that resulted in more than 800 arrests, hundreds of thousands of dollars damage and caused deep divisions among blacks and whites which may take many months to heal.

The disturbances abated after the city imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on April 12 and carried it into the Easter Weekend before it was lifted April 16. Most of the 800 arrests were for curfew violations.