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CNN Live Event/Special

Cincinnati Mayor Addresses Shooting of Armed African-American

Aired July 27, 2001 - 10:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to get close to the action now instead of remote. We're going to go to Cincinnati, where Mayor Charles Luken is talking about the shooting we were detailing to you just a few moments ago; a shooting earlier today in which a policeman killed an African-American suspect. Very touchy subject there.

Let's listen to the mayor.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

MAYOR CHARLES LUKEN, CINCINNATI, OHIO: ... damn about the national media, except to say they ought to be a little bit fair with our city.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: How are they being unfair?

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... on this morning before you -- did you hear him this morning on the radio, mayor, and...

LUKEN: I didn't, but from what I've heard about his comments, I'm grateful that he is responding to a preliminary investigation that appears to say, very simply, if you point a gun at a Cincinnati police officer, you will -- you can expect violence to -- in return. And I -- I think he's responding appropriately to the fact pattern that we...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) the national media has been...

LUKEN: I'm not going to go in -- I mean, if you want to talk about the national media, I'll show you the articles and we can go page by page. But suffice it to say, this city has been maligned unfairly on several occasions by the national media.

And it's a good city. It's a safe city. And it is responding, I think, appropriately to circumstances that face us.

QUESTION: Mayor...

(CROSSTALK) QUESTION: ... I just want to ask one more question, Mayor Luken.

LUKEN: All right, one more and then we're done.

QUESTION: One of the reasons that officers, including some of the people in this room have cited for this so-called slowdown or pullback is the wrangling between the mayor's office, the city council and others in the city. Is that wrangling over?

LUKEN: Well I hope that it is; I think that it is. I think, again, it's been exaggerated. But my sense is that people are supportive of the police. We're excited about the proactive approach they are taking. We are encouraged by the citizen response that we have seen. And we are riding this ship and, as I say, we will not stop until Cincinnati is restored to what it historically is, which is one of the safest cities in America.

Thank you very much.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm not going to give a statement in the chief's conference room. The FOP is going to be holding a press conference at 11:15 at the FOP hall, and we'll address...

FRAZIER: Those are the comments of Mayor Charles Luken of Cincinnati, Ohio. Also speaking there, a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Police Unions.

They are responding to questions following the shooting this morning of an armed suspect who had a shotgun -- Ricky Moore, 21 years old, confronted by city policeman Thomas Haas. An exchange of gunfire; Mr. Moore died in that exchange. Police explaining in great detail the circumstances leading up to that shooting, in light of the fact that there has been anger over what has been called excessive use of force by the police when they're confronting African-American suspects.

And, most recently, following three days of rioting two months ago -- three months ago about that, a pullback alleged by people in the African-American community by Cincinnati police in African- American neighborhoods.

More on this as details are available to us.

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