Morning All,

I was talking to a couple of the cops here at work about the riots in Cincy. They informed me that everytime that something like this happens, that they will get people trying to get them(the cops) to become more violent just so that they have a reason.

They reported to me that yesterday, there were already a couple of instances where people were stopped here on our property for speeding or whatever that tried to provoke the police.

One specifically said that he was worried that the situation in Cincy would spread to other areas, as he has had the feeling that there have been some "underground currents" for some time for some demonstrations.

What do you think?

All, just please be careful if you have to be in an area which you are unfamiliar or that is prone to this kind of outbreak.

Sheeple - sitting in the 'hotseat' of her city.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Answers

Response to [Gen/OT] Will the Cincy riots go elsewhere

Not too far from reality, Sheeps. From what I know of the situation here--and it's quite a lot--there are periods when the gangs decide to lure the police into a shooting trap. You know how run-of-the-mill hooligans (remember that lovely descriptive noun?) like to emulate gang-bangers, well, there's a lot of that too. The gang-banger-wannabes figure that if they can trigger an incident on their own, they'll have either a shortcut to gang membership or they'll achieve status among their homies.

Sweetie and I have watched as our local Northgate Mall has become the turf of the Crips. Most people just think blue has become a popular color among the kids at the mall. We don't go to the mall much at all, except to the Radio Shack and the software place. There have been some violent incidents at the mall--not reported in the paper, by the way, bad for business, ya see. We also know that Military Circle Mall in Norfolk/Va. Beach was the site of some shooting incidents before we left the area. The food courts are the usual trouble sites. We knew police officers who long ago forbade their families to go to the mall. We try not to shop at the mall other than quite early in the morning and hope that the troublemakers are still in bed.

I wish more people would invest in a police scanner, learn the codes (not difficult) and listen to what REALLY goes on in their town. The listing of police reports you see in the paper is but a small--very small-percentage of the whole picture.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

I am not at all amused by the riots in Cincinnati, although watching the footage on CNN has turned into the latest spectator sport amongst some up here, two hours away, in Columbus. I'm told that there was some copy cat violence over on the east side that was quickly quashed by the local PD. I can't confirm or deny that rumor. Our local PD has a lot of experience quelling drunken student brawls on OSU game days, where innocently parked cars catch on fire and burning sofas somehow end up in the middle of streets. I would hope that training would suffice to quell copy cat riots. In any case, I wish the innocent residents of Cincinnati well. It would be tough enough working nights at one of the factories and then have some cop checking on whether you were going to work or not.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Meemur,

Agreed.

I just tossed this out, as that is what the cops are talking about. They said there was a good chance it would spread. Let's hope that it doesn't!

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Well, all those 'disenfanchised' voters are looking for an excuse. Right?

I'll see if I hear anything at work tonight. I have co-workers that live all over the county and some even in the next county, so I think I can get a fairly good picture of Dade from them. We have to constantly watch this sort of thing as it is bad for business safety.

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

The funeral of the guy who was shot and killed is tomorrow. . .

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

No one at work has heard or seen anything to indicate that anything is brewing in our town that could cause an eruption related to cincity.

One girl was going on about this incident with the cop and say 'excessive force' was used. I set her straight on that one real quick. "I didn't know that." was her answer.

Then she went on about comparing it to the guy in Broward County that stole a car and was finally apprehended in a backyard after jumping from the stolen car while it was still in gear. No one was hurt by the car, but the cop that nabbed the f%^&$^^ was filmed being a 'bit rough' with the suspect. This incident was almost entirely aired live as it happened, and repeated ad nausem for days. They found the cop guilty of using excessive force, but basically slapped his hand and wagged a finger at him, "Don't do that again! [when you're being filmed.]

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001

Well, the funeral is this afternoon. I know several folks who live there who packed and went to stay with relatives in other parts of the state. The curfew has cut into Easter plans for many. Also included are some families with members in the nat'l guard, which is still on standby.

I don't expect that we'll have problems in Columbus, but I'm staying out of downtown this weekend anyway.

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001