Less than halfway through a five-year review, Mayor Charlie Luken believes Cincinnati police have made enough progress on reforms to be released early from a deal with the U.S. Justice Department. Luken has written to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft asking that the city be released from an agreement signed in spring 2002. The city is in the 28th month of the 60-month review period. A local civil rights activist and an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union criticized Luken's action as premature, adding that his claims are delusional. Luken asked for the Justice Department review after a white officer shot and killed Timothy Thomas, who was unarmed, during a foot pursuit in April 2001. The shooting of Thomas, a Black man sparked three nights of rioting. In his letter, Luken wrote, "The police department has aggressively pursued the stated goals of the agreement, which are to minimize the risk of excessive use of force by Cincinnati police officers and to promote police integrity." The Rev. Damon Lynch III, a local civil rights activist who helped negotiate the collaborative agreement, said "the reason the agreement is for five years is it allows police to show over a course of time that they can act responsibly to African-American citizens in this community and are committed to good behavior." [more] and [more
] - Police cause riot [more ]
- Cincinnati mayor declares state of emergency due to Riots 4/12/2001 [more ]
- Violence sparked by police killing of unarmed black leaves scores injured [more ]
- Pictured above: (top left) Police restrain and take a man
into custody during riots that erupted after a Cincinnati police
officer shot and killed Timothy Thomas, 19, who was unarmed and wanted
for misdemeanor traffic violations. [more ] and [more ]
- (Top right)
On November 30, 2003 several Cincinnati Police Officers beat
Nathaniel Jones to death. Most of the beating was captured on Police
videotape [SEE ].
Mysteriously, however the beginning of the tape is missing. Police
maintain that Jones was fighting back against the Cops. But sticking
your hand out seems to be a reasonable reaction to being hit with
batons by several people. [more]
- Cincinnati officer cleared in race shooting that sparked riots 9/26/2001 [more ]
