from correspondents with the Cincinnati & Antioch R&R! chapters
Saturday, April 14th was the wake and funeral of Timothy Thomas. Attending the funeral was what looked like 40 delegates from the Nation of Islam, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (Cincinnati and Detroit), Martin Luther King III, president of the NAACP Kweisi Mfume, the family of Thomas, and hundreds of friends and other people from the entire Cincinnati area out to show support. We spoke to people from Cleveland and Louisvillel. Several people from the Cincinnati Chapter of Refuse and Resist! attended the funeral as well.
It was very irritating to watch the Mayor Charlie Luken and Ohio Governor Bob Taft as they sat in the center of the church behind the casket where Thomas lay. When Luken walked by the body of Thomas he paused and then coldly walked by Thomas's mother, Angela Leisure, not even looking at her. The Black United Front and the NAACP served as ushers, security, and facilitators.
The mood of the hundreds of people outside the church was somber. Many were angry that Luken, Taft and members of Cincinnati's inactive City Council were inside. After the funeral members of the Black Panther Party carried Thomas' casket to the hearse as the streets erupted in shouts of solidarity that included "Fuck the Police" and "Black Power." As this was happening, Luken, Taft, and members of City Council snuck out the back door with their security guards to avoid the angry crowd on the streets.
Many people on the streets felt that Luken and Taft had no place in the funeral. The lack of concern displayed by them after the death of 15 black men in the past 5 years in Cincinnati has left many people intensely angry. Many are calling for their resignation. One man said he couldn't believe that "the devil" (Luken) was let into church.
About half an hour after the funeral ended many people were walking home or were still socializing outdoors. It was then that we saw the police drive up Liberty Street, stop at Elm St (about four blocks away from the church) and fire bean bag bullets at the crowd. One woman was hit 2-3 times and a little girl who looked about 7 years old was hit. The police fired without warning and then drove off. Then, they began circling the area with their sirens on. Many people marched to District One station a few blocks away and demanded answers. The police and the media in Cincinnati lied and claimed that "the crowd had been out of hand." More cover up! More lies! It was as if the police waited until the funeral was over and then rolled in to instigate a reaction from the people leaving the funeral. But caught again, since then the police have been forced to say that they are conducting an "internal investigation" of the incident.
In another part of town, 10 youth were detained for 1.5 hours, basically for looking like "anarchists." The youth were walking down the street and were suddenly surrounded by 25 cops with guns drawn. Cops told them to throw the bags toward them and stand facing the wall, hands behind the head. All their things were searched. The cops took pictures and checked everyone's id all the while saying "Oh, we know you guys from the TABD" When The Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue met in Cincinnati last November, they were confronted by demonstrations against globalization. The cops did find an outstanding warrant on one person and arrested him and stole $96.00 and all their water! They used the plastic cuffs and on one person tightened them so tight they couldn't get them off. When they resorted to using their knives, they cut up his wrists.
[posted 4/17/01]
Stop Police Brutality index | R&R Main Page
Join Refuse
& Resist!
305 Madison Ave., Suite 1166, New York, NY 10165
Phone: 212-713-5657
email: info@refuseandresist.org