April 16, 2001
(CINCINNATI) –- Cincinnati residents can now come and go as they please now that city officials have lifted a curfew imposed following last weeks riots.
Hundreds of people were arrested for being on the streets after 8 p.m. The curfew conditions allowed movement at night only in emergencies or for those traveling to or from work.
Mayor Charles Lukens also announced today that he would create a commission to examine the conditions that led to several days of rioting, mostly by young blacks who broke windows, set fires and looted. The violence was sparked by the shooting April 7 of a young unarmed man as he tried to escape police.
Timothy Thomas was buried Saturday after a funeral service attended by the governor of Ohio and the president of the National Association of Colored People. While the city was generally calm during and after the funeral, local leaders charge that in at least one instance police officers fired bean bags into a peaceful crowd, injuring several people.
Thomas was the 15th African-American killed by police in Cincinnati in the past three years. Local leaders charge that the death toll is a demonstration of police racism, but police officials say that most of the victims were armed and attacked or threatened officers.