Riots. Civil unrest. Uprising. How a person characterizes the events that occurred in Cincinnati during the early days of April 2001 reveals a lot about his or her mindset. On a warm Saturday night, on April 7, two off-duty Cincinnati police officers in Over-the-Rhine recognized a passerby, Timothy Thomas, as a person wanted on open warrants. The officers walked toward Thomas, who ran.  

Local attorney Al Gerhardstein is concerned about the training and policies of law enforcement agencies regarding the justification and constitutionality of Taser use on nonviolent suspects.  

Amid their crushing defeat last week in the health care bill debate, GOP pundits and conservative groups had at least one victory to celebrate: ACORN, the liberal community activist group, announced it was shutting its doors. While right-wingers celebrated the group's demise, others saw the announcement as the final throes of a political assassination writ large.  

It turns out a courtroom isn't the only place where one can find civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein and Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. together. Both men spoke Oct. 27 at the 40th anniversary celebration for the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati (MARCC).