Sep. 27, 2001 
                ENQUIRER HOME
 
Enquirer News Update   -   Updated 5:33 pm
 Police step up Over-the-Rhine patrols today

 

 Curfew in effect at 11 tonight, mayor says
 

                    By Tom O'Neill

                    The Cincinnati Enquirer 
                           As extra police units continued patrolling Over-the-Rhine and
                    the West End today, Mayor Charlie Luken announced this
                    afternoon he would again impose a curfew - but move it back an
                    hour to 11 p.m. to accommodate businesses. 
                            Mr. Luken set an overnight curfew late Wednesday that
                    officials said today helped minimize the civil unrest in the wake of
                    the acquittal of police officer Stephen Roach for the April shooting
                    death of 19-year-old Timothy Thomas.   
                            Cincinnati police overnight arrested 12 adults and two
                    juveniles related to the unrest. 
                            Of the 12 adults arrested, four
                    were solely for violating the curfew,
                    which ended 6 a.m. today. The others
                    were for various minor charges,
                    including disorderly conduct and having
                    an open flask in public. The two juveniles were charged only with
                    violating the curfew. 
                            Police Lt. Kurt Byrd said the curfew helps keep the peace. 
                            ''We'll use discretion in enforcement,'' he said. 

 

                            ''That's why we had so few arrests last night. It was a great

                    tool for us last night, it worked well, but we used discretion
                    because some people were unaware it was in effect.'' 
                            Angenett Dority, 32, of Over-the-Rhine, was charged with 
                    disorderly conduct and obstructing official business, for allegedly
                    feeding a fire that had been set in a garbage can in the 100 block
                    of East 14th Street at 11 p.m. 
                            Meanwhile, Mayor Luken has asked the Rev. Damon Lynch
                    III and other ministers not to hold outside demonstrations tonight. 
                            ''I did call Rev. Lynch this morning and asked him not to
                    march,'' the mayor said. ''He said he would not. The proof is in the
                    pudding.'' 
                            Mr. Luken set a later curfew tonight ''so businesses can get
                    the lion's share of their revenue,'' he said. 
                            Mr. Luken called Wednesday night's curfew after 11:30 p.m.,
                    when city Safety Director Greg Baker told him officers were
                    threatened and fire had broken out, and that the unrest had ''a
                    similar feel to April.'' 
                            City firefighters wore bullet-proof vests and were
                    accompanied on fire runs by police escort. Cincinnati firefighters
                    made 30 fire runs throughout Over-the-Rhine, but no businesses
                    were damaged. 
                            By late Wednesday night, two civilian cars were set aflame
                    and one police van window was shattered, police said. Numerous
                    rocks and bottles were thrown by protesters. 
                            The turbulence caused firefighters at Engine No. 5, at Clifton
                    Avenue and Vine Street, to move to Engine No. 29, at Liberty and
                    Linn Street. They went back to their station this morning but
                    planned to relocate again tonight. 
                            In April, ''sometimes we just let (the fires) burn. Last night,
                    we put out everything we found,'' said Cincinnati Fire Chief David
                    Collini. ''We don't know what's going to happen tonight.'' 
                            Arson investigators this morning also responded to a fire at
                    Elm and Elder in Over-the-Rhine in which a man suffered
                    third-degree burns over much of his body. It was not clear if it was
                    related to the unrest. 
                            

Contributing: Enquirer staff reporters Susan Vela and Robert Anglen