Curfew eased after race riots

The mayor of Cincinnati today relaxed the city’s dusk-to-dawn curfew in response to a calm night following the funeral of a black man whose shooting by police triggered a week of unrest.

Mayor Charles Luken said the curfew would start at 11pm instead of 8pm to allow families more time to celebrate Easter together.

"Hopefully today can be a day of prayer. A day of peace. A day of coming together," he said.

The death on April 7 of Timothy Thomas, 19, led to three days of rioting in predominantly black neighbourhoods that stopped when the mayor instituted the curfew on Thursday.

Overnight on Saturday, police arrested 187 people for curfew violations.

"It was almost a boring night for us," police chief Thomas Streicher said.

He said there were calls about shots being fired, and sporadic instances of rocks and bottles being thrown at police vehicles.

Since Thomas’ death, more than 700 people have been arrested for looting, arson, vandalism and curfew violations.

Thomas, wanted on 14 warrants for misdemeanors and traffic violations, was unarmed when he was shot while running from police.

Stephen Roach, the officer who shot Thomas, is on paid administrative leave.

Hundreds of protesters marched through the riot-scarred Over-the-Rhine district after Saturday’s funeral.

Four people were injured by crowd-control bean bags shot by police and State Highway Patrol officers, but the march was otherwise peaceful.

Police and the FBI were investigating why officers also shot bean bags at a group milling on streets shortly after the funeral ended.

"We don’t feel completely like this is over. We recognize that in certain parts of the city tensions still are a little high," Luken said.

Cincinnati, a city of 331,000, is 43% black.