PittsburghFirst.com

Police quell demonstrations in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI — Police fired tear gas and bean bags on Monday night and early Tuesday to drive off scores of demonstrators protesting the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old black man by a white policeman.

Demanding answers to the shooting early Saturday, more than 200 protesters first jammed into City Hall on Monday afternoon in a raucous demonstration that disrupted a City Council law committee meeting.

Protesting the shooting deaths of 15 young black men by Cincinnati police since 1995, they surrounded and berated Police Chief Thomas Streicher in City Council chambers as he delivered a preliminary report on the most recent incident.

Streicher told protesters he could not discuss details of the police investigation because they had been turned over to a grand jury.

After the City Hall demonstration, protesters joined by others descended on nearby police headquarters where the crowd was finally dispersed by tear gas and beanbag ammunition.

The case involves Steven Roach, 26, a four-year Cincinnati police veteran, who shot and killed Timothy Thomas, 19, who investigators said was spotted in a high-crime area by off-duty police.

Thomas was wanted on 14 misdemeanor warrants, including receiving stolen goods, police said. They said Roach chased him a short distance until he cornered him in a dark alley where the shooting occurred.

City Councilman Jim Tarbell said the unarmed youth was shot once in the chest at relatively close range by the officer, who reportedly thought the suspect was reaching for a weapon in his waistband.

Demanding answers to the shooting early Saturday, more than 200 protesters first jammed into City Hall on Monday afternoon in a raucous demonstration that disrupted a City Council law committee meeting.

Protesting the shooting deaths of 15 young black men by Cincinnati police since 1995, they surrounded and berated Police Chief Thomas Streicher in City Council chambers as he delivered a preliminary report on the most recent incident.

Streicher told protesters he could not discuss details of the police investigation because they had been turned over to a grand jury.

After the City Hall demonstration, protesters joined by others descended on nearby police headquarters where the crowd was finally dispersed by tear gas and beanbag ammunition.

The case involves Steven Roach, 26, a four-year Cincinnati police veteran, who shot and killed Timothy Thomas, 19, who investigators said was spotted in a high-crime area by off-duty police.

Thomas was wanted on 14 misdemeanor warrants, including receiving stolen goods, police said. They said Roach chased him a short distance until he cornered him in a dark alley where the shooting occurred.

City Councilman Jim Tarbell said the unarmed youth was shot once in the chest at relatively close range by the officer, who reportedly thought the suspect was reaching for a weapon in his waistband.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2001

Answers

Cincinow.com

T O P S T O R I E S

Crowd Protesting Suspect's Death For Second Day

Web produced by: Liz Foreman

Updated: 4/10/01 8:01:35 PM

Police are urging citizens to avoid going into downtown Cincinnati or the Over The Rhine neighborhood while a violent crowd protests the recent of a suspect by police.

For the second day, the violent crowd is moving around the streets of Cincinnati and the nearby neighborhood.

Police in riot gear have been using tear gas, beanbag guns, rubber bullets and other crowd-control measures to try to control the rioters.

The protest, which police have labeled a 'riot', started Tuesday afternoon with approximately 100 to 150 people.

In an effort to contain the rioters to the Over The Rhine area, police have set up checkpoints on Central Parkway and Liberty Street on 4th Street.

There have been approximately 20 arrests so far in connection with the Tuesday protests.

The protesters have been throwing rocks, bottles, garbage cans, breaking windows, knocking over newspaper stands and other things in their path.

The crowd has damaged several downtown and Over The Rhine businesses.

Two large window panes at Davis Furniture on Main Street near 12th Street were broken by the crowd.

Bob Deardorf of Davis Furniture was upset that the protesters targeted his business.

"I think it's absolutely terrible. They act like fools...I have no idea why they do this," Deardorf said.

Across the street, the Jump Cafe and Bar lost its entire front window, leaving considerable damage and an angry manager.

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous. I am not the one that caused all this to happen. This is my place of business. I'm a taxpayer. I've been in Over The Rhine for six years," said the manager.

Both Cincinnati City Hall and Cincinnati Police headquarters are under lockdown with police in full riot gear.

Streets around the two buildings have been blocked to traffic as a precaution.

This is the second day of protests. Approximately 100 people protested in downtown Cincinnati Monday night.

The protesters were angry about the death of Timothy Thomas, an African American suspect who was killed by a Cincinnati police officer this past weekend.

The protesters walked around downtown Cincinnati beginning approximately six in the evening.

The crowd marched down the middle of city streets, blocking traffic and forcing police to close the streets.

The protests started at Cincinnati City Council chambers, where a city council law committee meeting was being held.

Timothy Thomas' death was an item on the law committee's agenda.

Before Cincinnati City Council's law committee could discuss Thomas' death, an angry group of people approximately 150 people shouted down councilmembers before they got to the subject.

The law committee quietly followed its agenda, but an impatient crowd began shouting that hearing them was more important.

Law Committee Chairman John Cranley tried to gavel the crowd to order and then decided to call a recess.

The large crowd didn't like that Cranley had called decided to call a recess.

In retaliation, the crowd shouted "No recess. No recess. No recess."

For a few brief moments protestors would not allow Cranley and Councilman Jim Tarbell to leave the room.

Members of the crowd who shared their thoughts with 9News said they were frustrated their voices were not heard.

"We want to talk to top officials so we can get peace in here. We don't want to protest. We want to do it with peace and love and bring people together to have a healthy relationship with the community and with the leaders here. But when we talk about it they don't want to give us a chance," said Sylvia Simms, a member of the crowd from Woodlawn.

The crowd eventually quieted down and the council law committee began the process of hearing their concerns.

Timothy Thomas's family also joined the protest at Cincinnati City Hall Monday.

Thomas's mother, Angela Leisure, sat quietly and wiped away tears as the meeting proceeded.

Following the meeting, the crowd left city hall and marched to Cincinnati Police District 1 headquarters.

For about an hour, protestors shouted at police and briefly locked arms in front of the headquarters.

The protesters even turned the American flag on the pole in front of the building upside down.

Twenty police patiently waited in front of the headquarters and 20 more waited across the street.

The crowd shouted to Cincinnati police that they want answers as to why the shooting happened.

After spending an hour at the headquarters, half of the group began walking though Over The Rhine.

The group cheered when they marched down the alleyway off 14th street where Timothy Thomas, 19, died.

Then the crowd of approximately 100-150 headed towards Liberty Street.

They passed through the Main Street entertainment district and stopped briefly at the Hamilton County Justice Center.

Police joined the protesters at the jail, watching as the protesters walked through Fountain Square and up Race Street to Over The Rhine.

The protesters ended up again at District 1, where they are now.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2001

they want answers as to why the shooting happened

He ran.

He didn't follow directions, and made suspicious moves which the cop took to mean that the idiot was possibly armed and therefore the cop's life was in danger.

he was an idiot.

he was a criminal.

Need I go on?

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2001

OHIO shooting protest resumes

by LISA CORNWELL Associated Press Writer

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Gangs of roving youths looted stores, torched buildings and attacked motorists for a second evening, forcing residents to lock themselves indoors while clergy members and politicians appealed for calm.

The rioting was sparked by the police shooting of an unarmed black man, who was killed while fleeing a white police officer. Timothy Thomas, 19, wanted on 14 misdemeanor warrants, was the fourth black man shot dead by police since November.

Police Spc. Scott Johnson advised peaceful protesters not to go into the streets Tuesday night for their own safety.

''There is fear everywhere,'' said Johnson, head of the Sentinel Police Association, a black officer's group. ''There is fear in the police and on the other side, and people are not distinguishing between those who are causing trouble and those who are bringing peace.''

Vandals have left a trail of broken windows and torched shops. Several motorists have been hit with bricks, seemingly in random attacks.

Earlier Tuesday, officers clad in helmets and shields set up protective rings around City Hall and police headquarters and fired bean bags and rubber bullets at about 50 demonstrators who roamed downtown streets throwing rocks, cans and bottles.

Police on horseback, accompanied by shotgun-armed foot patrols, arrested at least 20 people for rioting and disorderly conduct.

Violence and vandalism continued overnight into Wednesday. Fire department paramedics took about 25 people to hospitals and treated about 40 others on the streets, said police Lt. Ray Ruberg.

The injured included people hit by police with rubber bullets.

James Johnson, 33, a Ford Motor Co. assembly worker, said he tried to help a bleeding neighbor who'd been hit in the head by a police-fired beanbag. He said police ordered him to get away from the woman, whom he identified as Juanita Jackson, 42, a resident of his apartment building. Jackson was later treated in an emergency room, a hospital official said.

The City Council canceled its Wednesday meeting, saying the unrest posed safety concerns.

Mayor Charles Luken appealed for calm discussion and an end to the violence during a news conference.

''If we can't do that, then I'm not optimistic that the future will be that much better than the past,'' Luken said.

Rev. Damon Lynch III, pastor of New Prospect Baptist Church, also urged peace.

''There has to be another voice out there saying we understand your pain and we are with you, but violence is not the answer,'' Lynch, leader of Cincinnati Black United Front, told a meeting of about 150 people.

Churchgoers who'd planned a peaceful march to a nearby park were turned back as police cordoned off the area.

Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. on Monday offered condolences to Thomas' family.

Police union president Keith Fangman said the officer, Steve Roach, thought Thomas had a gun and feared. Roach is on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure after police shootings.

The FBI is investigating whether police violated federal civil rights law in the shooting.

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2001