Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Cincinnati Prepares for Timothy Thomas' Funeral

Aired April 14, 2001 - 07:10   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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: For the second night in a row, the streets of Cincinnati have been relatively calm under a dusk-to-dawn curfew. But today, large crowds are expected at the funeral of a black man whose shooting by police sparked those violent protests. And police are ready for trouble.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken is with us this morning in Cincinnati. Good morning, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

We're in the Over-the-Rhine section of Cincinnati. It's one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city. It's where just a couple of blocks away on last Saturday, 19-year-old Timothy Johnson (sic) was shot and killed, unarmed by -- he was unarmed, but a policeman shot and killed him as he chased him. Johnson (sic) had 14 misdemeanor warrants, most of them were for traffic offenses.

And behind me is the church where there will be funeral services, first visitation this morning at 11:30 Eastern, and then 1:30. The actual services, it's the New Prospect Baptist Church.

The city, of course, went through several days of violence before a curfew crackdown, and for the second night in a row, the streets were eerily quiet, no violence whatsoever. And police enforced the curfew again, taking absolutely almost no excuse for people to be on the streets. They made several dozen arrests of people who did not have adequate reasons to be out on the streets as they patrolled, particularly in these sections of the city, trying to avoid a return to the confrontations which had caused so much difficulty earlier in the week.

Now, as you pointed out, there is some concern that this funeral service could, in fact, raise feelings a little bit. There is heavy security. The police themselves are staying at a discreet distance, but they're hoping to get through this part of the day. They're calling this day crucial, the burial of Timothy Thomas.

Now, afterwards there are going to be investigations. President Bush instructed the attorney general, John Ashcroft, to send people in to look at the conduct of the Cincinnati Police Department and see if the complaints here that Cincinnati police has had an adversarial relationship with the African-American community for decades is valid. There will be those investigations. But today there's a hope to avoid problems and a hope to just take care of the sadness that is embracing this community right now and bury Timothy Johnson (sic) -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Bob, the mayor there said the curfew was indefinite. Any indication as to when a decision might be made to lift it?

FRANKEN: Well, they're going to have an assessment every 24 hours. Of course today is, to use his word again, crucial. They feel that they can get past this day, obviously, that might speed up the lifting of the curfew. If things don't go well, it could go on for quite a while.

There's another consideration also, and that is whether to call in the Ohio National Guard. Today is going to be key to making that decision.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Bob Franken in Cincinnati.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com