File spoon-archives/aut-op-sy.archive/aut-op-sy_2001/aut-op-sy.0105, message 25


Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 08:20:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Sean Fenley <satellitecrash-AT-yahoo.com>
Subject: AUT: Cincinnati Convergence June 1-2



> 
>     JUNE2 IN CINCINNATI: 
>     NAT'L MARCH TO HIT RACIST POLICE KILLINGS
> 
>     By Leslie Feinberg
> 
>     A broad call has gone out for everyone outraged
> by racist 
>     police violence to march in the streets of
> Cincinnati on 
>     June 2. More than 200 people from dozens of
> groups initiated 
>     the call for a massive, militant national March
> for Justice.
> 
>     The shooting of an unarmed teenager by a
> Cincinnati police 
>     officer on April 7 ignited the biggest rebellion
> in the city 
>     since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther
> King Jr. Cops 
>     arrested more than 800 people during the
> uprising.
> 
>     The youth--Timothy Thomas--was the 15th Black
> male killed by 
>     Cincinnati police since 1995. And he was the
> fourth African 
>     American in just five months shot to death by
> local cops.
> 
>     The call for a national March for Justice
> focuses on three 
>     demands: Stop police killings and the abuse of
> police power, 
>     end the police department's racist patterns and
> practices, 
>     and build social and economic justice.
> 
>     A major rally is also scheduled for June 1.
> African 
>     American, white and immigrant groups and
> individuals have 
>     met in Cincinnati in recent weeks to plan the
> three-day 
>     protest. More than 200 people from dozens of
> groups have 
>     taken part.
> 
>     Endorsing organizations as of May 4 include the
> American 
>     Federation of Government Employees Local 3840
> Executive 
>     Committee, Concerned Citizens for Justice,
> Coalition for a 
>     Humane Economy (CHE) and Stand Up 4 Democracy.
> 
>     Black activists and the American Civil Liberties
> Union 
>     joined forces to sue the city in March. They
> charged that 
>     the police department had failed to halt 30
> years of police 
>     harassment of African Americans, who make up 43
> percent of 
>     Cincinnati's 331,000 residents.
> 
>     In the month since the rebellion, the City
> Council had to 
>     accept federal court-supervised mediation to
> resolve the 
>     lawsuit. The city's safety director and the city
> manager 
>     were forced to resign under criticism.
> 
>     'SLAP ON THE WRIST'
> 
>     The cop who shot Timothy Thomas in cold blood
> was indicted 
>     by a Hamilton County grand jury on May 7. But
> the panel 
>     declined to indict officer Stephen Roach on
> murder charges.
> 
>     Instead, he was charged with two misdemeanors:
> negligent 
>     homicide and obstructing official business. If
> convicted of 
>     both, Roach could face probation or at most a
> maximum of 
>     nine months in jail.
> 
>     Timothy Thomas' mother, Angela Leisure, told the
> media, "I 
>     feel it was a slap on the wrist.
>     "I don't feel like justice was served. I feel it
> was not 
>     severe enough for the severity of what he did.
> He took a 
>     life. Negligence--that doesn't cut it for me."
> (The 
>     Cincinnati Enquirer, May 8)
> 
>     Roach had been on paid leave since the slaying.
> But after 
>     the grand jury's ruling, the department
> announced he would 
>     be returned to desk duty.
> 
>     The city had widely announced that extra police
> would be in 
>     the streets to prevent any reaction to the grand
> jury 
>     decision. But this, and a sudden thunderstorm,
> did not stop 
>     the many protests.
> 
>     The Coalition for a Humane Economy held a
> demonstration of 
>     more than 200 on the steps of the courthouse in
> the early 
>     evening on April 7 against police brutality and
> to demand 
>     justice for Thomas' family. More than 150
> protesters marched 
>     around the police headquarters the same day.
> 
>     As night fell, Cincinnati police recorded damage
> to three 
>     Main Street businesses and a police substation
> in 
>     Corryville. The rear window of a police cruiser
> was smashed. 
>     And someone attempted to burn the plywood used
> to board up 
>     windows at the Cincinnati Police Substation at
> 220 E. 
>     University.
> 
>     Windows were broken at three Main Street
> businesses in Over-
>     the-Rhine--where Thomas was killed--and two
> vacant 
>     buildings.
> 
>     On April 8, a group of demonstrators chanted "No
> justice? No 
>     peace!" in Fountain Square, the center of the
> city's 
>     business district.
> 
>     The same day Mayor Charles Luken told a CBS news
> broadcast, 
>     "Suffice it to say that there may be a number of
> flash 
>     points out there over not only the next few
> days, but over 
>     the summer."
> 
>     To contact the March for Justice, call (513)
> 588-8883.
> 
>     - END -
> 


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