Reuters - updated 6:22 PM ET Apr 12

Thursday April 12 4:26 PM ET

Bush Concerned About Events in Cincinnati

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) urged Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) on Thursday to make sure the U.S. government was helping restore calm in Cincinnati and cool tempers, a White House spokesman said.

Cincinnati city officials declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew on Thursday following three days of vandalism and looting sparked by the shooting of an unarmed black man by a white policeman.

``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,'' said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites).

The chaos in Ohio began following the shooting death last Saturday of Timothy Thomas, a 19-year-old sought on 14 misdemeanor arrest warrants. It was the 15th time a black crime suspect was killed by Cincinnati police since 1995 -- a period during which there were no police killings of white suspects.

Fleischer said Bush contacted Ashcroft on Thursday morning to express his concern about events in Cincinnati and urged him to contact Ohio officials, including Gov. Bob Taft, to make sure the administration was providing the necessary assistance to help calm and resolve the situation.

In a written statement, Fleischer said two senior Justice Department (news - web sites) officials were dispatched to Cincinnati early on Wednesday to help serve as mediators and work out a dialogue between community leaders and city officials.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Answers

Thursday, April 12, 2001

Arrests mostly of young males

By Susan Vela

The Cincinnati Enquirer

Sixty-six people — five of them juveniles — were arrested Tuesday on charges that included inducing a riot, failure to disperse, criminal damage and drug abuse.

The most severe charges stemmed from firing guns into the air, looting, stealing from a pawn shop or illegally entering a store and handing out soft drinks to people involved in the break-in.

The bulk of the people arrested during Tuesday's riots were young black adults, between the ages of 18 and 24, who now face charges of disorderly conduct and breaking and entering.

Twelve, including two women, face felony charges. If convicted, they could spend up to a year in prison. They were arraigned Wednesday before Municipal Judge Ralph E. Winkler, who set bonds of $20,000 or $30,000 per person. Their cases will go before a grand jury in the next two weeks.

A third of those arraigned came from Over-the-Rhine.

The other people arrested face misdemeanor charges and, if convicted, face up to six months injail and $1,000 in fines each.

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Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said police and prosecutors will pursue criminal charges against protesters who destroyed property, burglarized businesses or harmed bystanders.

He said prosecutors will seek videotapes from citizens and media in an effort to identify suspects.

“They are law-breaking thugs who should be prosecuted vigorously,” Mr. Allen said Wednesday. “That will not be tolerated in this community. Throwing rocks and breaking windows will not bring Mr. Thomas back.” Timothy Thomas, 19, was killed by police Saturday.

Nathan Ebert, 20, of Florence, said he has no regrets. The young white man went downtown Tuesday to help those arrested with bail proceedings when he learned a march was about to begin.

He decided to participate. Now he is under house arrest and faces a riot charge for allegedly throwing bottles at police. He denies such behavior, saying that pictures taken by his friends will prove the police wrong.

“A lot of the things that happened definitely shouldn't have happened,” he said. “Someone has to be there to see what's going on.”

He said he would like to attend future City Council meetings about the riots. But “right now, I can't, because I'm on house arrest.”

Clemmie Jones, a Fairmount resident, said Wednesday that she hated to see her son, Darnell, 29, leave her home Tuesday evening. They had been watching a newscast about the violence when he said he wanted to see it for himself, she said.

“He just walked into that,” his mom said.

Mr. Jones, a construction worker, was at the Hamilton County Justice Center, facing charges of breaking and entering and resisting arrest.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001