Lessons Learned From Cities Of Unrest

The images from Baltimore of demonstrations, police in riot gear, looting and outbreaks of violence are familiar to some other cities after encounters with police ended in death for unarmed individuals — primarily black men.

Officials say what comes from those tragic encounters can be important lessons about policing and moving forward.

In April 2001, Cincinnati Police Officer Stephen Roach fatally shot 19-year-old Timothy Thomas in the city's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, an inner city area, then in deep decline. Thomas, with a record of minor traffic offenses, had a warrant out for his arrest. Unarmed, he ran from Roach and was fatally shot.

The days of rioting sparked by his death are considered the largest urban unrest since the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, after the acquittal of four police officers involved in the beating of Rodney King.

Former Mayor Charlie Luken said it put Cincinnati in an international spotlight.

He says, "The one thing we learned is that you cannot tell people that the case is under investigation and expect them to accept that as an answer over any length of time."

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