Cincinnati's hope today is that the tears of sorrow shed for Timothy Thomas this afternoon do not lead to acts of rage tonight.

A motorist promotes peace as he drives past the New Prospect Baptist Church, site of today's funeral for Timothy Thomas. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        Friends and family will join at a church in his neighborhood today with throngs of people who have come to know the 19-year-old Over-the-Rhine man only after he was gone.

        City leaders — and thousands of other Cincinnatians numbed by a week marred by rioting and violence — are hoping that the uneasy, curfew-driven peace that has held for the past two nights continues today.

        Late Friday night, the curfew was working again — Cincinnati police reported few problems and had made 37 curfew violation arrests.

        Police Chief Tom Streicher said officers especially are wary of the potential for violence after today's funeral for Mr. Thomas, shot and killed by Officer Steve Roach early last Saturday.

Thomas

        Fifteen African-American males have been killed in confrontations with Cincinnati police since January 1995. Six were armed with guns, a seventh took away an officer's gun. One was armed with a knife, one wielded a brick, another held a board with nails in it. Three others were unarmed and two were in vehicles.

        That record has enraged many in the black community, while many police officers and their supporters argue that most of the deaths were incidents where “lethal force” was justified.

        Today “is going to be a crucial day,” Chief Streicher said. “We look for Saturday to be a potential turning point for us in this whole event.”

Flowers are delivered to the church for the funeral. The flowers were from the residents and business owners from the Main Street district. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        The citywide curfew that began Thursday night — the first the city has seen in more than 30 years — was credited for a night of relative tranquillity, a stark contrast to the two previous nights of rioting, looting and confrontations in many city neighborhoods. City officials said the 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew would continue tonight and for as long as necessary.

        Curfews in neighboring communities — Norwood, Cheviot, Green Township and St. Bernard — continued Friday night as well. No arrests were reported.

        Friday, in New Prospect Baptist Church at Findlay Market in Over-the—Rhine, six men and women practiced gospel songs for today's funeral service, located in an area scarred by two nights of vandalism.

        Hundreds are expected to attend the 11:30 a.m. visitation and 1:30 p.m. service at the church. Police are concerned the service also will attract hundreds of others to the streets and that, when evening arrives, it will be difficult to maintain order.

        Sources said Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, a Cincinnati native, would attend the funeral.

        Police made it clear Friday night they will leave the mourners alone for today's funeral, as Mr. Thomas' family has requested.

        Maj. James Walker of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said at a media briefing Friday night that law enforcement officers wanted to “allow the family to grieve on its own.”

Mayor Charlie Luken's face shows the stress of the week. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Friday, critics of the Cincinnati Police Division and its rocky relations with the black community got something they had demanded for some time - the resignation of Safety Director Kent Ryan, who supervised the police and fire divisions.

        Mr. Ryan, who suffered chest pains Monday night after a raucous City Council committee session in which black activists called for his firing, cited health reasons in his resignation letter to City Manager John Shirey.

        Mayor Charlie Luken said Friday he had known for a week that Mr. Ryan was going to ask to be reassigned to another job in the city administration.

        “It is his decision,” Mr. Luken said. “That's what I want to underscore.”

        Councilwoman Alicia Reece, who called for Mr. Ryan's resignation in the stormy law committee meeting Monday, said Friday she was pleased.

        “This is a time for new leadership,” Ms. Reece said. “We need an approach that will bring black and white together.”

        But the acting safety director is someone whom critics in the African-American community have also been trying to oust — Chief Streicher.

        And there was no indication Friday that Chief Streicher intends to follow his former boss's lead by resigning. In fact, the police chief was front and center Friday, holding news conferences and preparing his division today.

        Despite the anxiety over the possibility of more trouble, many in the city worked to begin the healing process.

Ruth Franke from Amelia prays during the Interfaith Prayers for our city on Fountain Square. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        Good Friday services in Protestant and Catholic churches across the city focused on prayers for peace to settle over the troubled city this Easter weekend.

        In Avondale, a meeting of African-American community leaders at Temple Baptist College produced a list of actions they believe the city should take to convince Cincinnatians — particularly African-Americans — that the anger and frustration that led to this week's violence will lead to change.

        The recommendations include a call for 200 community resource workers to be put on the streets immediately to assist in calming frustrations and possible civil disobedience.

        The group includes the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Ohio Secretary of State and former Mayor J. Kenneth Blackwell, former Mayor Dwight Tillery and former Cincinnati City Council members Tyrone Yates and Charles Winburn.

        The group said it wants an immediate meeting with Mr. Luken to discuss its recommendations.

Jenny Laster of the Grassroots Leadership Academy reads a statement asking for 'swift resolution' to the investigation of Timothy Thomas' death. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        The group announced that Martin Luther King III, son of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will be in Cincinnati today to give a 5 p.m. speech at Greater New Light Baptist Church, 710 N. Fred Shuttlesworth Circle, North Avondale.

        Mr. King, who heads the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, also may attend Mr. Thomas' funeral.

        Early Friday night, as the city entered the second night of the curfew, Cincinnati's largely empty streets had a ghostly, unreal look. It was unsettling for the thousands confined to their homes, but the curfew seemed to be serving its intended purpose, as it did on Thursday night.

        “It went exceptionally well, much beyond our expectations,” Chief Streicher said Friday of the first night of the curfew.

        Instead of mass arrests for rioting, looting and assaults, Thursday night's arrests were mostly for curfew violations.

        Cincinnati police arrested 153 people Thursday night and Friday morning. All but 15 were arraigned Friday before Hamilton County Municipal Judge Ralph Winkler.

        Most entered pleas of no contest and were sentenced to one day in jail with one day's credit for time served, so they were released.

        Some protested their arrest, saying they never knew about the curfew until they found themselves leaving work and didn't see anyone on the streets.

        Those with previous records received stricter sentences. For example, one man was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

FOP President Keith Fangman holds up seven fingers referring to the seven reviews Cincinnati Police face after a intervention death. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        While the curfew violators were in court and city officials were planning for Friday night, Queen City Fraternal Order of Police President Keith Fangman was holding a news conference to respond to accusations by black leaders that Cincinnati police offi cers target black males.

        Mr. Fangman said the public does not understand that 10 of the 15 African-American men shot and killed by police were armed and had either pointed a gun or fired at officers.

        “We are not some band of rogue Nazis hunting down and killing black men,” Mr. Fangman said. “That's an unfair characterization.”

        Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen — who announced Thursday that the case would go to a grand jury Monday — had harsh words for critics of the police Friday in a brief interview on CNN.

Roach

        “This stuff about 15 black males being murdered by Cincinnati police is simply not true,” said Mr. Allen, a former Cincinnati police officer. “We do not have a bigger problem than any other city.”

        Kenneth Lawson, lawyer for Angela Leisure, Mr. Thomas' mother, said Friday that police in Cincinnati have abused blacks for years. This week, when black rioters randomly attacked whites, officials acted, Mr. Lawson said.

        “The majority sees how it feels to be targeted because of your skin color,” he said.

        Chief Streicher said he was pleased with the community response Thursday, except for one case of arson.

        "We had some trouble in Kennedy Heights,” the chief said. A fire that caused $100,000 damage was set late Thursday night at the Redwood Carry Out on Woodford Road.

Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper guards a closed Findlay Market Friday. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Cincinnati police were aided by the presence of 125 riot-trained Ohio State Highway Patrol officers, and more may arrive today. Hamilton County sheriff's deputies also helped handle calls to free up Cincinnati police dealing with the neighborhoods where rioting had occurred. The sheriff's office also provided helicopter surveillance Thursday and Friday.

        There were indications Friday afternoon that the Bush administration is taking the situation seriously. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft contacted Mr. Luken by fax Friday afternoon to say that the Justice Department is sending a team of lawyers to help “bring calm to the situation.”

        Friday morning, the fire division declared most of Over-the-Rhine — from north of 12th Street to District 5 headquarters in Clifton, and from Reading Road west to Interstate 75 — a “hot zone.” It is an area where firefighters and emergency medical units will answer calls only if they are accompanied by a police escort.

Loretta Blackburn and Lester Jones of Kennedy Heights stand outside the burned-out Redwood Carry Out at Kennedy Avenue and Woodford Road. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        City officials scrambled Friday to figure out how many businesses were damaged and how to help.

        A preliminary tally gathered by the city's buildings and inspections department showed 78 businesses in Over-the-Rhine, Madisonville and downtown had windows shattered. Over-the-Rhine was hit hardest with windows in 48 buildings knocked out.

        The city still was no closer to calculating the dollar amount of damage.

        The city's economic development department plans to establish a $250,000 fund so businesses can quickly repair shattered windows. City Council will be asked to approve the fund next week.

        City officials would not speculate how much they have spent trying to quell the violence earlier this week and enforce the curfew of the last two nights. They also had not yet determined how much the city has spent in overtime for police, fire and other city personnel. The cost of the cleanup and assistance to small businesses affected by the violence also had yet to be assessed.

Brianna Matthews 11, of Over the Rhine walks past a boarded up store front at 12th and Main. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        Cincinnati police spokesman Lt. Ray Ruberg said the cost would probably be “tremendous,” but he would not speculate on the amount.

        Fire officials said Friday that 108 fires were set from Tuesday through Thursday, causing $214,375 in damage.

        Bars and restaurants all over the city shut early Friday. Concerts and sports events were canceled, hotel rooms went unclaimed and stores sent employees home early.

        All Metro bus service continues to observe the curfew. All trips scheduled to leave downtown after 7:30 p.m. are canceled; all buses scheduled to arrive after 8:10 p.m. are canceled. Metro service is affected because all routes operate in the city of Cincinnati during at least part of their trip.

        Major League Baseball has been monitoring the unrest in Cincinnati in case the Reds need to reschedule games next week.

        The next Reds home games are 7:05 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, against the Milwaukee Brewers. Baseball officials can wait as late as Monday to decide whether to postpone Tuesday's game at Cinergy Field or switch to an afternoon start, said Katy Feeney, vice president for scheduling and club relations.

        Andrea Tortora, Jane Prendergast, Robert Anglen, Susan Vela, Janice Morse, Marie McCain, Ken Alltucker, Jennifer Mrozowski, James Pilcher and Kevin Aldridge contributed.
       

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