Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken visited with Enquirer reporters and editors Monday afternoon. Here are some highlights of what he said:

        • The curfew:

        “I don't know that things got better because of the curfew. I know things got better because people of goodwill got together and got the word out.”

        • Police Chief Thomas Streicher: “He's handled the last week in a very professional and solid way. We've talked a lot about restraint and use of force, when necessary. I've been very impressed with his sensitivity.”

        • A City Charter amendment to allow police and fire chiefs to be hired from outside the departments: “I would like it to go farther, so we can write our own rules on civil service and discipline. All of those things would have to be done in conjunction with the renegotiation of the Fraternal Order of Police contract. We still have two years to go on that contract.”

        • Property damage: “Where insurance is not in volved, we (the city) will help. We haven't decided on any hard-and-fast policy.”

        • FOP President Keith Fangman:

        “He makes some good points. I wouldn't always make them the way he does. But he'll do what he thinks is best for his men and women.”

        • The police department's inability to rid itself of bad apples: “We've lost 10 arbitration cases. There's some disagreement as to why. Did we do a lousy job of putting on the cases or is something flawed in the process?”

        • Who else needs to be involved?:

        “The business community; the clergy, white and black; the African-American leadership, the NAACP and the Urban League; the media. But somehow, while we're doing all this with the usual cast of characters, we've got to set up some kind of format where these young people are at least given the sense that somebody is listening to them and that at least once in a while, they can even affect what's going on.”

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