By
The Associated Press
CINCINNATI - The mayor declared a state of emergency and announced a citywide curfew as riots over the police shooting of an unarmed black man stretched into a fourth day yesterday.
Only people going to and from work will be allowed on the streets between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., Mayor Charles Luken said.
"Despite the best efforts of the good citizens of our city, the violence on our streets is uncontrolled and it runs rampant," Luken said at a news conference at City Hall.
"The time has come to deal with this seriously. The message ... is that the violence must stop."
Officials in the city of 331,000 have considered asking the state to call out the Ohio National Guard, but no decision had been made, Luken said.
Over the weekend, the fatal shooting of Timothy Thomas, 19, by a white officer sparked days of unrest, a federal investigation, and calls for accountability.
Thomas was killed as he fled Officer Steven Roach, who was trying to arrest him for failing to appear for misdemeanor charges and traffic violations. Roach's union said he feared for his life during the encounter.
Tensions between blacks and police have heightened over the past few years. Since 1995, 15 black men died at the hands of police, including four since November.
Small groups of vandals roamed several neighborhoods Wednesday night and early yesterday, breaking windows, looting stores and assaulting at least one white motorist who was dragged from her car, police said. Others in the neighborhood came to the woman's aid.
A police officer was shot Wednesday night, but the buckle of his gun belt caught the bullet and saved him, though he was severely bruised, Luken said. No arrest had been made in that shooting.
Youths reinvaded several stores that had previously been looted in Over-the-Rhine, a poor and predominantly black district just north of downtown.
"I think the black citizens are tired and scared, I think the white citizens are tired and scared," Luken said. "There's gunfire going on here like you might hear in Beirut. It's dangerous and it's getting more dangerous."
At least 66 people have been arrested on such charges as disorderly conduct, criminal rioting, obstruction, felony assault, theft and breaking and entering since the violence began Monday.
Luken said he signed a document minutes before the news conference declaring the state of emergency, and City Manager John Shirey authorized the curfew to begin last night.
"We don't like the fact that we have to declare a curfew," said the mayor, who was flanked by five of the nine city council members. "For 99.9 percent of the citizens of our city, a curfew is completely unnecessary. We ask our citizens to bear with us."
It was not immediately clear how the curfew would affect a planned nighttime town meeting called by Kweisi Mfume, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He had planned to lead the meeting last night at a church near downtown.
A man interrupted Luken at the news conference to ask whether the mayor was ready to meet with a group calling itself the New Black Panthers. He was pulled out of the room after shouting that the mayor was a "liar."
"That's the kind of incivility we've been dealing with," Luken said.
