Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac began his portion of today’s press conference as he did yesterday’s by once again condemning the actions of the officers who killed George Floyd saying, “That is not the way professional law enforcement should conduct themselves. We support the prosecution of the officers involved in that and we support professional and good policing.”
He then went on to describe the demonstrations that took place on Saturday.
He said 1,000 people or so — including himself — attended the peaceful protest that took place at Washington Park on Saturday afternoon (see video of the speakers here).
He said then about 500 or so began a peaceful march expressing their First Amendment rights. Around 5 p.m., two women were arrested — one for spitting on an officer and one for taking an officer’s mountain bike. The march continued until the crowd reached CPD District 1 headquarters around 8:30 p.m., when Isaac said he saw people trying to pry open a window of the precinct with the attempt to place something inside. He also said bottles and rocks were thrown at both officers and the building. Pepper blasts were used to disperse the crowd and he said other encounters required the use of OC (oleoresin capsicum or pepper) gas.
After the 10 p.m. curfew in Over-the-Rhine and downtown, protestors moved into the Clifton/CUF area. Businesses along Calhoun Street and W. McMillan sustained damages during the unrest, including Adriatico’s and Mr. Tuxedo. Windows were broken and Isaac said it looked like shots had been fired into some businesses.
Isaac said just before 1 a.m., officers in a line formation in CUF were hit with rocks and bottles before the situation escalated.
“During that time a shot was fired hitting one of our officers. The round went through the officer’s riot shield and struck his helmet,” Isaac said. “The officer did not sustain any injuries, however, to be a part of such a traumatic event, I have placed him on administrative leave to deal with that incident.”
“I absolutely believe it was intentional,” he said of the shooting. “As far as an escalation, this conduct we’re seeing across the country. These individuals have decided that they will attempt to take the life of an officer. I believe that’s what this was.”
Isaac said CPD arrested 110 people last night, including 78 for curfew violations. Additional charges included arson, assault on a police officer (not for the above shooting), carrying a concealed weapon, rioting and vandalism.
As a result of continued unrest overnight, Mayor John Cranley has extended the city curfew both in length of time and geographic reach.
The curfew goes into effect at 9 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night and will now include all 52 Cincinnati neighborhoods. It ends at 6 a.m. both days.
The curfew doesn’t apply to city officials, members of public safety forces, emergency personnel, health care professionals, essential workers, those experiencing homelessness or local government officials engaged in lawful duties.
Mayor Cranley was with CPD for a portion of last night.
Last night the @CincyPD proved they are the best in the nation and the envy of the state. City Manager Duhaney and I had the privilege of riding with the police from 6:45 pm until midnight and witnessed most of the major interactions they had with protestors and others
— John Cranley (@JohnCranley) May 31, 2020
In a tweet and in the press briefing, Cranley said, “On a personal note, I was scared. It is really important to understand how frightening these situations can be. I also think it’s relevant to point out the activities we found the most frightening and most scary were conducted by white people.”
“There were a number of white people clearly engaged in coordinated activities adverse to the protest. I personally saw individuals separate from the protest casing police headquarters, counting officers, and pointing to windows that a rock was ultimately thrown through,” he continued.
I think we have got to be real about what’s happening and distinguishing between those who have many reasons to be upset about law enforcement’s relationship with the black community, and others who have another agenda to get innocent people hurt
— John Cranley (@JohnCranley) May 31, 2020
This article appears in May 6 – Jun 14, 2020.
