Second night of unruliness follows Black Family Reunion

By Jennifer Edwards jedwards@enquirer.com The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Black Family Reunion took a violent turn this year, with hundreds of youths leaving the Sawyer Point festival site Saturday and Sunday nights to wreak havoc downtown fighting, damaging Metro buses, overturning garbage cans, and leaving 20 people with minor injuries Saturday.

Sunday night, more than 100 youths walked from Sawyer Point through downtown after the Reunion, breaking car windows, toppling news racks and tossing rocks at moving vehicles, police said.

NEIGHBORHOOD TENSIONS CITED

Tensions among neighbor- hoods might have contributed to the fighting, police said.

“Youths from the same neighborhood were taunting youths from other neighborhoods,” police Capt. Greg Snider said. “It's hard to say if they were gangs, but we had groups wearing the same type of clothing and colors, and hats turned a certain way.” - Associated Press

Seven youths were arrested, most for curfew violations, Cincinnati Police said about 11 p.m.

Saturday night, roving bands of at least 150 teens and children as young as 9 ran city streets following a raucous hip-hop concert at the Reunion. Fights, at least one of which had occurred earlier at the event, escalated about 9:45 p.m. Saturday, just as thousands of people were pouring into central downtown streets and onto Fountain Square as the Reunion and a Reds game ended at about the same time, police said.

The youths toppled flowerpots, publication racks, garbage cans and soda machines; and hurled bottles, bricks and rocks at Metro buses, according to police and other witnesses. A Metro bus driver was punched in the mouth during the melee, during which hundreds of people crowded onto buses.

Twenty youths were treated and released at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, a spokesman said.

Eight males, most of them teenagers, were arrested or cited on charges of disorderly conduct, police said. Two were also charged with resisting arrest.

Shortly before 11 p.m., an officer sprayed chemical irritant on five fighting men who refused to disperse on Fountain Square. Gunshots were heard. Earlier in the evening - as festivities were ongoing at Black Family Reunion - an officer sprayed a chemical irritant on a juvenile involved in a fight at Yeatman's Cove.

Though not as serious, similar problems broke out last year on the second night of Black Family Reunion, said Capt. Greg Snider, who commands Cincinnati Police District One. No arrests were made last year but police officials did speak at that time with Reunion organizers, Capt. Snider said.

The 16-year-old Black Family Reunion usually attracts thousands of people to learn about family and health issues, socialize, listen to music and eat.

Reunion organizers said Sunday this year's event drew a record number of youth. Reunion Coordinator Cassandra Robinson said they were caught off guard by the incident.

“They were doing what kids do when they get together in large numbers,”she said.

She lamented that so many youngsters were left unsupervised, especially once youth activities ended at 8 p.m.

Though the city's teen curfew mandates those 15 and younger must be accompanied by an adult after 10 p.m. (after midnight for 16- and 17-year-olds) there were too many youngsters Saturday for police to enforce the curfew, Capt. Snider said.

“We did not overreact,” continued Capt. Snider. “I think we acted appropriately. The officers used a tremendous amount of discretion. We could have made a tremendous number of arrests but our goal is to restore order as quickly as possible.”

The 44-year-old Metro bus driver who was punched in the mouth was trying to quiet an unruly group onboard on Main Street near the Aronoff Center, said Sallie Hilvers, spokeswoman for Metro Transit System. Paramedics treated the driver at the scene.

Other Metro buses were pelted with rocks, bricks and bottles. One group from the event that wound up on President Drive at Fay Apartments smashed out windows on a bus there at 10:30 p.m., she said.

Another bus nearly had its back door ripped off by a group of teen boys who were in pursuit of a youth onboard and chased the vehicle down the street as it left Government Square, she said.

Cecil Thomas, executive director of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, blamed the lawlessness on hot weather and lack of parental supervision.

“My question is: Where were the parents?” Mr. Thomas said.

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2002