Th e Wh ite Hou se 0

1 0 1 968 J un e ,

EXECUTI V E O RD E R # 1 14 12

ESTAB LISHING A NATIONA L CO MM ISSION ON THE CAUSES A ND PREV ENTION O F V IO LENCE

n me as resi en of th e Uni e S es it By vir t ue of th e a u thority vest ed i P d t t d tat ,

is ordered as fol l ow s .

' e e is ere tablishm en t o th e Commission . r SECTION 1 . Es f (a) Th h by d re en ion of Viol ence es tabli shed a National Commission on th e Ca uses an P v t (hereinaft er refer red to as th e (b) The Comm ission sh all b e composed of:

Eisen how er Chair man Dr . Milton , Co ngre ss man H ale Boggs Se nator Rom an Hru ska

e . Cooke er E. enner r. Arch bish op Terenc J Alb t J , J W M M h Ambassador Patr icia H arris C‘o ngrem an illiam . cCulloc Dr . W Wa er Mennin ‘ . lt ger Leo n i n o h am ud e Erne s wmfim M cFar land J udge A . Higg b t ‘J g t Eric Ho ffer Leon Jaw or flt i

The Comm ss on sh all h e o mmission . SECTION 2 . Functions of t C i i in vestigat e and make recomm endations with respec t to:

The c uses and re en ion of ess c s of V o ence i n o ur socie (a) a p v t lawl a t i l ty , inc u in ss ss n ion m ur er and ss u l d g a a i at , d a a lt ;

The c uses and re en ion o f sres ec for and or er of (b) a p v t di p t law d , isres e c for u c o f ci s and o f V o en sru ons of ub c or er d p t p bli f i al , i l t di pti p li d by i ndi Viduals and g oups; and ( c) Such other m atters as th e Presid ent may pla ce b e fore th e Comm is

snon .

4 t e ission . SECTION . S taff of h Comm

r SECTION 5 . Cooperation by Executi ve Depa tme nts and Agencies .

The Commissmn ac in rou its C rm n is u or ze to (a) , t g th gh hai a , a th i d request from any e xecu t ive d epar t ment or agency any informat ion and ssis nce eeme ne ess r o r i u e E a ta d d c a y t ca ry out ts funct ions nd er this Ord r . ach e r m en or en c is rec e to th e ex en erm e and i in d pa t t ag y di t d , t t p itt d by law w th the im s o f e un s to u rnis in orm ion and ssis nce to the l it availabl f d , f h f at a ta m Co mi ss ion . he mm ms ion h l ese n its e r n ermi i n . T Co s al r SECTION 6 . R po t a d T na t o p t re or and reco mmen ions as soon as r c ic e b ut not er n one p t dat p a t abl , lat tha he m ss ermi n e i s yea r from th e dat e of this O rd er . T Co mi i on shal l t at th rty day foll owing the submiss i on o f i ts fi nal repor t or one y ea r from the dat e of this

r er ic e er is e r ier . O d , wh h v a l n n o n s on ‘ S/ L y do B . J h A e an Execu e r er June 21 1968 dd d by tiv O d , SHOOT- OUT IN CLEV ELA N D

B LA CK M ILITA NTS A N D TH E PO LI CE:

From t he c oll ecti on of the

M ay 1 969

For sal e b th e S u erin tenden t of D ocum en s U . S . G ov ernm en t r in in ffice y p t , P t g O W i D C 2 5 n s as n ton . . 2040 rice 7 ce h g , P t Th e Wh ite Ho u se 0

0 1 9 68 J u n e 1 ,

EXECUTI V E O RD E R # 1 14 12

ESTAB LISHIN G A NATIONA L CO MM ISSION ON THE CAUSES AND PRE V ENTION O F V IO LENCE

e in me as resi en of th e Uni e S es By vir t ue of th e a u thority vest d P d t t d tat , it is ordered as foll ow s:

' e e is ere ablishm ent o th e Commission . r SECTION 1 . Est f (a) Th h by d re en ion of Viol ence establ ished a National Comm i ssion on the Ca use s an P v t (hereinaft er referred to as th e (b) The Commiss ion shal l b e compose d of:

Mi o n Eisenhow er Chai rman Dr . lt , Com e ssm an H ale Boggs

e Coo ke ert E. enner Jr . Arch bishop Terenc J . Alb J , e m W M M Ambassador Patricia H arris C‘o ngr ss an illiam . cCulloc h P i ar Dr . W . Wa t er M ennin er Se nator hil p A . H t ‘ l g Leon in o h am ud e Ernes Wi l iam M cFarland J udge A . Higg b t J g t l

The Comm iss ion s Func tions o th e Comm iss io n . SECTION 2 . f hall investigat e and make recommendations with res pec t to :

Th e c uses and re en on of ess c s of io ence i n o ur socie (a) a p v ti lawl a t v l ty , inc u in ss ssin ion m ur er and ss u l d g a a at , d a a lt ;

Th e c uses and re en on o f sres ec for and or er of (b) a p v ti di p t law d , sres e c for u ic offi c1als and o f io en isru ions of u c or er di p t p bl , v l t d pt p bli d by individ ual s and gr oups; and ( c) Such o th er matt ers as the Presid ent may place b efore th e Comm is

Si on .

4 t m issio n . SECTION . S taff of he Co m

SECTION 5 Coopera tion by Executive D epar tme n ts and Agencies .

The Commiss on c in rou h i ts C rm n is u orize to (a) i , a t g th g hai a , a th d request from any execu t ive d epart ment or agenc y any informat ion and ss s nce eeme ne e r e a i ta d d c ssa y to ca rry out i ts funct ions und er this Ord r . Each e r men or en c is rec ed to the ex en e rmi e and i in d pa t t ag y di t , t t p tt d by law w th the im s of e un s to urnis in orm ion and ssis nce to th e l it availabl f d , f h f at a ta

Commi ss ion .

h e mm iss ion s ese n its e n . T Co l r SECTION 6 . R epo rt and T rmina tio ha l p t re or and recomm en ions as soon as r c ic e b ut not er n one p t dat p a t abl , lat tha e he m ssio h l ermi n e ir s yea r from th e dat e of this O rd r . T Co mi n s al t at th ty day foll owing the submissm n of its fi nal repo r t or o ne y ea r from th e dat e of this

r er c e er is e r ier . O d , whi h v a l / L n don B o n s on ‘ S y . J h A e an Execu i e r er June 21 1968 dd d by t v O d , SHOOT- OUT IN CLEV ELA N D

B LA CK M ILITA NTS AND TH E PO LI CE:

A Rep or t to th e

National C om m ission on

th e Cau se s an d Preve n ti on of

Vi ole nce

by Lou is H M . aso tti

and

J erom e R C . orsi

M ay 1 969

F or sal e b th e Su erin enden t of D ocum en s U. S . G ov ern m en t rin in Oiii ce y p t t , P t g W ash in ton D C 20402 rice 75 cen s g , . . P t Official editions of publications of the National Commission on the Causes P of l and revention Violence may be freely used , dup icated or published , in or whole in part , except to the extent that , where expressly noted in the pub lications C a of , they contain opyrighted materi ls reprinted by permission the P ri copyright holders . hotographs may have been copy ghted by the owners ,

m a and permission to reproduce y be required .

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number : 7 26 0207 1 STATEMENT ON THE STAFF STUD IES

’ The Commission w as directed to go as far as man s ” knowledge takes it in searchi ng for the causes ofviolence and means of prevention . These studies are reports to the Commission by independent scholars and lawyers who have served as di rectors of our staff task forces and study teams; not P they are reports by the Commission itself. ublication of any of the reports should not be taken to irnply endorse of m em ment their contents by the Commission , or by any ’ ber of the Commission s staff, including the Executive Director and other staff officers not directly responsible for the preparation of the particular report . Both the credit and the responsibility for the reports lie in each case with the directors of the task forces and study teams . The Com mission is making the reports available at thi s time as works of scholarship to be judged on their merits , so that the Com mission as well as the public may have the benefit of both the reports and informed criticism and comment on their contents .

Dr . h Chairman Milton S . Eisen ower , SHOOT-OUT IN CLEV ELAND

Co-D irec tors

Louis H . Masotti

Jerome R . Corsi

Editori al Consul tant

ll Anthony E . Nevi e

Pic torial Consultan t

Judi th Harkinson

Commission Staff Officers

Exe tiv Dire t r . cu e c o Lloyd N Cutler , i e t r D . D e u t D r c o Thomas Barr , p y

l f n Co-D irec tors o Research James F . Short , Jr Marvin E . Wo ga g , f

r General Counsel Ja nes S . Campbell , McD n d c m . o al Administrative O e Willia G , ffi Laitin D irec tor o In orma tion Joseph , f f i . S ecial A ssistan t to th e Cha rman Ronald A Wolk , p

National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence

r l n D . Chairma Mi ton S . Eisenhower , PRE FAC E

of From the earliest days organization , the Chairman , Commissioners , and Executive Director of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence recognized the importance of research in accomplishing the task a of i of nalyzing the many facets violence in America . As a result of th s i recognition , the Comm ssion has enjoyed the receptivity , encouragement , and of cooperation of a large part the scientific community in this country . Because of the assistance given in varying degrees by scores of scholars here

of and abroad , these Task Force reports represent some the most elaborate m work ever done on the ajor topics they cover .

m on 10 1 68 9 . The Co mission was formed June , By the end of the month , the Executive Director had gathered together a sm all cadr e of capable young lawyers from various Federal agencies and law firms around the country . That ’ group was later augmented by partners borrowed from some of the Nation s m wh o major law fir s served without compensation . Such a professional group can be assembled m ore quickly than university faculty because the latter are not accustome d to quick institution al shi fts after making firm commitments or al of teaching research at a particular locus . Moreover , the leg profession a has long had a major and tradition l role in Federal agencies and commissions . In early July a group of 50 persons from the academic disciplines of c al sociology , psy hology , psychiatry , politic science , history , law, and biology were called together on short notice to discuss for 2 days how best the m Commission and its staff ight proceed to analyze violence . The enthusiastic response of these scientists came at a mom ent when our Nation was still ’ suffering from the tragedy of Senator Kennedy s assassination . It was clear from that m eeting that the scholars were prepared to join

a al . research n ysis and action , interpretation , and policy They were eager to to m the to present the A erican people best available data , bring reason to

il . bear where myth had preva ed They cautioned against simplistic solutions , but urged application of what is known in the service of sane policies for the

benefit of the entire society . D of Shortly thereafter the position of irector Research was created . We

assume d the role as a joint undertaking , with common responsibilities . Our l function was to enlist socia and other scientists to join the staff, to write papers , act as advisers or consultants , and engage in new research . The t of 100 decentralized struc ure the staff, which at its peak numbered , required research coordination to reduce duplication and to fill in gaps among the for origin al seven separate Task Forces . In general , the plan was each Task

of i : one one . Force to have a pair d rectors a social scientist , a lawyer In a f i m ru t number o instances , th s for al st c ure ben before the necessities of available personnel but in alm ost every case the ask Force work program for relied on both social scientists and lawyers its successful completion . In

o r c on addi tion to u work with the seven original Task Forces , we provided “ ” f r of T m su ltation o the work the eighth Investigative ask Force , for ed origin ally to investigate the disorders at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions and the civil strife in Cleveland during the summer of 1968 and eventually expanded to study campus disorders at several colleges and universities . Throughout September and October and in December of 1968 the Com mission held about 3 0days of public hearings related expressly to each of the 100 s . s Task Force areas About witnesse testified , including many cholars , l n c of Government officia s , corporate executives as well as milita ts and a tivists various persuasions . In addition to the hearings , the Commission and the staff of n ll met privately with scores persons , i cluding co ege presidents , religious as and youth leaders , and experts in such areas the media , victim compensa r tion , and firearms . The staff participated actively in st ucturing and conduct i of ing those hearin gs and conferences and in the question ng witnesses . D t of As Research irectors , we participated in struc uring the strategy design

for . each Task Force , but we listened more than directed We have known the delicate details of some of the statistical problem s and computer runs . We have argued over philosophy and syntax ; we have offered bibliographical and al of C other resource materi s , we have written portions reports and opy edited

. th e others In short , we know enormous energy and devotion , the long hours and accelerated study that members of each Task Force have invested in their l of labors . In retrospect we are amaze d at the high ca iber and quantity the

a of hi r materi l produced , much w ch t uly represents , the best in research and 150 scholarshi p . About separate papers and projects were involved in the lm work cu inating in the Task Force reports . We feel less that we have orches trated than that we have been members of the orchestra , and that together with the entire staff we have helped compose a repertoire of cu rrentk nowl edge about the enormously complex subject of thi s Commission . That scholarly research is predominant in the work here presented is to wh evident in the product . But we should like emphasize that the roles ich D r we occupied were not limited to scholarlyinquiry . The i ectors of Research were afforded an Opportunity to participate in all Commission meetings . We i decisionm akin and h ad engaged in discussions at the h ghest levels of g, great c r of freedom in the sele tion of schola s , in the control research budgets , and in

of n ot the direction and design research . If this was unique , it is at least an uncommon degree ofprominence accorded research by a nation al commission . There were three major levels to our research pursuit : ( 1) summarizing the state of our present knowledge and clarifying the lacunae where more or new research should be encouraged ; (2) accelerating known ongoing research so as to make it available to the Task Forces ; (3) undertaking new research projects of an d withi n the limits time funds available . Coming from a university setting where the pace of research is more conducive to reflection and quiet l m hours ana yzing data , we at first thought that co pleting much meaningful new research within a matter of months was most unlikely . But the need was al matched by the t ent and enthusiasm of the staff, and the Task Forces very early had begun enough new projects to launch a small university with a score al of doctoral theses . It is well to remember so that in each volume here on a presented , the research reported is full public display and thereby m kes al the staff more than usu ly accountable for their products . One of the very rewarding aspects of these research undertakings has been ai m the experience of minds tr ned in the law mingling and meshing , so etimes i fiercely argu ng , with other minds trained in behavioral science . The organiza tional structure and the substantive issues of each Task Force required mem of bers from both groups . Intuitive judgm ent and the logi c argument and ‘ n ot al of organization blended , ways smoothly , with the methodology science and statistical reasoning . Critical and anal ytical faculties were sharpened as

of nor of i theories confronted facts . The arrogance neither ignorance certa nty could long endure the doubts and questions of interdisciplinary debate . Any sign of approachin g the priestly pontificati on of scientism was quickly dis elle al a for p d in the matrix of mutu criticism . Ye rs required the normal accumul ation of experience were compressed into months of sharing ideas a with others who had equally v lid but differing perspectives . Because of this i process , these volumes are much richer than they otherwise m ght have been . Partly because of the freedom which the Commission gave to the Directors D of to of Research and the irectors each Task Force , and partly retain the n of full i tegrity of the research work in publication , these reports the Task Forces are in the posture of being submitted to and received by the Com mis of m sion . These are volumes published under the authority the Co mission , but they do n ot necessarily represent the views or the conclusions of the

. ow n Commission The Commission is presently at work producing its report , m based in part on the materials presented to it by the Task Forces . Com ission of members have , course , commented on earlier drafts of each Task Force , and have caused alterations by reason of the cogency of their remarks and i insights . But the final responsibil ty for what is contained in these volumes on rests fully and properly the research staffs who labored on them . s c a of In thi conne tion , we should like to acknowledge the speci l leadership

Dr o the Chairman , . Milton S . Eisenhower , in formulating and supp rting the principle of research freedom . and autonomy under which thi s work h as been conducted .

We note , finally , that these volumes are in many respects incomplete and tentative . The urgency with which papers were prepared and then integrated into Task Force Reports rendered im possible the successive siftings of data r an d argument to which the typical academic article o volume is subjected. The reports have benefited greatly from the counsel of our colleagues on th e P w . Advisory anel , and from much debate and revision from ithin the staff It our h O e of ll is p , that the total work effort the Commission staff wi be the c al sour e and subject of continued research by scholars in the sever disciplines, as r well as a useful resource for policymakers . We feel ce tain that publi c ll m policy and the disciplines wi benefit greatly fro such further work .

To a i n the Commission , and especi lly to its Cha rma , for the opportunity m they provided for co plete research freedom , and to the staff for its prodi iou s to g and prolific work , we , who were intermediaries and servants both ,

are most grateful .

J ames F . Short , Jr . Wolfgang

Directors of Research P REFAC E 1

to of 1968 o This report began be compiled in the summer , even bef re the

. 5 ofr in stitu smoke had cleared from days acial violence in Cleveland . Two tions shared our belief in the national significance of the events in Cleveland and generously underwrote the study : the Lemberg Center for the Study of al l Violence , Brandeis University , and the Nation Institute of Mental Hea th ,

DC . a on Washington , In September , the Nation l Commission the Causes and P a ni nifi of revention of Violence , lso recog zing the sig cance these events , lent 15 1968 . support to the study and urged that it be completed by November ,

- n Hundreds of man hours were invested in interviewing , research , writi g , and in safeguarding accuracy and completeness as we rushed to meet the 20 deadline . Of the more than Civil Violence Research Center staff members

ou r al a : Mrs . and project consultants , four deserve speci commend tion Robert Mrs P D . a ir . i . ickman , John Krause , Jr Yoram p , and Mrs Robert Bauerle n al They performed innumerable and often overwhelming administrative , cleric , al of the to the and intellectu tasks , tirelessly bearing the brunt pressure finish

. al Arrnbruster report Ellen Cummings lent her leg expertise , and Timothy Mrs " l " n and . Jeffrey erby their interpretive skills ; Estel e an es , Lauren McKin se Monh art t l III y, James , Robert Fa low , Kermit Al en , , Forrester Lee , and Sharon Dougherty conducted more than 200interviews that provided the of in al raw material for large sections the report . Julie Reinstein provided v u Tw o l l : able assistance in the office . of our col eagues were especia ly helpful P wh o an d rof . Jeffrey K . Hadden , helped to initiate and design the project , h o al v P McCa h w . rof . Charles g y, conducted sever key inter iews

Many Clevelanders were exceedingly cooperative . Mayor Carl B . Stokes , the members of hi s cabinet and staff; Police Chi ef Michael Blackwell and some police officers ; editors and reporters of both the electronic and printed news ’ media ; the leadership of Cleveland s black community ; Fred (Ahmed) Evans ’ hi s l of i and attorney , Stanley Tol iver ; members Cleveland s City Counc l; busi — nessm en of the Glenville area all gave generously of their time and knowl n ot infor edge . Others were cooperative , stating that they could not divulge of n w h o mation until after the trial Fred Evans , the black milita t was indicted on seven counts of fir st-degree murder in connection with the racial di sturb i of an es . c Some mportant records , such as the tapes police radio calls during

ni v . the ghts of iolence , were unobtainable A draft of the report w as finished November 15 coincident with another report sponsored by th e National Commission on Violence on the demonstra tions in Chi cago durin g the Democratic National Convention of 1968 (the il w as i one Walker Report) . Wh e that report published soon thereafter , th s was d w as our . i not An important ifference in the c rcumstances that , in case , the on report narrated events for whi ch a man was about to go trial for his life . Th e Comm ission took the position that release of this report prior to the mur on 12 1969 be der trial of Fred Evans (completed May , ) would be improper 0 cause

criminal trial s of some of the alleged participants in the incidents whi ch are the subject of the report were likely to begin in the near fu

ture . The Commission felt that the public interest would be as well of th e i served by postponing release report until after the trials , and th s course of action would avoid any possible interference with the prose

cu ti on or defense of those cases .

The pros an d cons of pretrial publicity have been the subject ofmuch de bate . The American Bar Association and the legal profession generally believe that publicity as to the details of events that may be relevant to the trial on ba should be avoided , so that the jury can arrive at its decision solely the sis of the evidence presented to it in the courtroom with full Opportunity to consider the dem eanor of witnesses and their responses under cross-e xamina ’ d m a tion . The Nation s me ia urge a ore liber l standard in the name of the con f stitu tional freedom o the press . ’ The bal ance between the constitutional right to a fair trial and the public s ’ one to right to know is a difficult strike . It was the Commission s prerogative l to decide this po icy question as it did . Scholars might have decided it differ endy . now Even though the trial is over and the verdict is in , it is still difficult for us to decide in ou r m inds what effect prior publication would have had on the conduct of the trial and the judgment reached . Readers themselves can of i r s . judge the fai nes and objectivity th s report We have not attempted , in f to n . re this report , pronounce judgments where none is warra ted Indeed , a quent them e in this report is that many important questions have gone un of of answered . What we have attempted is a coherent narrative the events 23 1968 n ai to anal the fateful evening of July , , orga izing the det ls facilitate y sis a the , raising questions where they are warr nted , and mirroring shootout in For Cleveland against the events that led up to it and those it precipitated . of of 23 jurors during the Evans trial , a picture the events July emerged only of n o through weeks testimony , presented in logical sequence and often inter ru ted l l recesses ~ and p by cha lenges , lega debates , conferences at the bench , , the other discontinuities that make criminal trials move slower than baseball games . ’ of n ow an Whatever the wisdom the Commission s decision (and it is , in “ an for other sense , academic matter their reason withholding this report n con from publication di d not satisfy all critics . Among those incli ed to see spiracies where none exists (a disposition of extreme leftists as well as those on the far right) , there were suspicions that the Commission was suppressing the report because it contained conclusions distasteful to the Establishment f ’ n o . m i t poi t view In Cleveland s black co mun ty , the rumor was afloat hat the report was being rewritten at the Commission’s direction to excise passages h on an t at would cast doubt the guilt of Fred Evans . Neither suspicion had y n on ad basis in fact , si ce no one representing the Commission Violence ever dressed a comm ent to us that in any way challenged the substance of our

report .

n ot . s We did spend the period of forced silence idly , however Tho e months gave us an Opportunity all authors cherish : a chance to review the m effort , i prove it structurally , and sharpen the prose style . In this effort we l of al had the inva uable editorial assistance Anthony E . Neville , a profession

. re rt r writer Gradually what had begun as a po , a document with no g eater

ambition than to be factual , thorough , and useful to a special audience , took

on book . the aspects of a , structured and phrased to inform the general public Of an d When the trial Fred Evans was over , we added epilog iscussing that

event . hi In a sense , however , t s book is still incomplete . Fred Evans was con victed of first-degree murder by an al l -whi te jury under an Ohio law that t e no e quired proof that h ever pulled a trigger . The effects of that verdict on

m . the black co munity in Cleveland are not yet clear Moreover , the circum stances that bred racial violence in Cleveland in the summer of 1968 have not one changed significantly since then , and no can say with confidence that it

will not happen again . America itself has not changed in the ways that mat — w ter . It could happen again any here .

Cleveland , Ohio M a 1 6 1969 y ,

ou t m protect property . Born in controversy , carried under co plicating cir “ cum stan es nl c and with o y partial success , the technique of community con ” ll m of i Rs trol during riots is sti a atter d spute as to effectiveness . "Was Why did it happen , especially in Cleveland the Glenville incident the “ ” of to W result a vast conspiracy get hitey or the sudden , unpremeditated act " " — of a few individuals Wh o is to blame Will it happen again in Cleveland or elsewhere" CONTENTS

Pr eface

In trodu ction

Ph otogr aph s

Prelu de to th e Sh ooting

’ A Midsu m m er s Nigh tm are

Reaction : Th e Cr ow ds th e oli c an d , P e , City Hall

Law and Disorder

Cl evel an d in th e A fterm ath

A New Pattern "

Epil og: Th e Trial an d Conviction of Fred (Ahm ed) Evan s

l 196 Fred Ahmed Evans in his Afro Culture Shop in Apri 7 . The red brick apartment house at 123 12

Auburndale , where Ahm ed and other black nationalists lived , served as a nest for l snipers in the Glenvil e battle .

A policeman fires tear gas to flush snipers from the second story of the

Lakeview Tavern .

P l f r UPI P olicem en crouch behi nd their cars whi e looking o snipers . hoto P on of olice seek the safety of their vehicles Lakeview , north Euclid Avenue .

Th e Cleveland Press- Bill Neh ez

P f . m ire olice Officer Lt Leroy Jones lies ortally wounded from sniper . Th e . officer at right was later wounded . UPI t u ' ’ s t hi s w ea A police sharpshooter , armed with rifle with telescop e gh , aims p UPI Photo on Ia . The bodies of two snipers lie in alley behind houses keview

Patrolman Ernest Rowell suffered bullet wounds and was overcome by tear The man at left tied belts of ammunition around hi chest s .

al Hospit attendants carry a policeman shot in the stomach . Associated Pr

Associated Pr Herbert Reed a bystander to beaten by a gang , is led a

hospital .

A gutted police cruiser stands destroyed before a sign forecasting better days

for of . ahead residents the predominantly Negro East Side UPI Photo 1 5 P 39 a . The home of Rev . Henry erryman at L keview engulfed in flames

of of 63 In the smoldering aftermath five days violence , business P establishm ents were damaged or destroyed . roperty damage exceeded

one million dollars .

l nd Press- P . Th e C ev ela The next morning Rev . erryman views rubble Tony Tomsic

National Guardsmen stand smoke billows Linder The scene ofviolence on Superior Avenue at — Lakeview burning buildin g and

In . P Youths from PRIDE c. clean up debris after the night of violence Associated ress

Police search for looters .

The Cleveland Pr ess- Bill Neh ez

UPI P Loot from a furniture store loaded broad daylight . hoto

ou Three unarmed teenagers are brought t under police guard . ’ Harll el one of Mayor Stokes speaks with Jones , Cleveland s leading black ’ nationalists and a member of the Mayor s Committee who w as arrested two nights later for curfew violation and possession of weapons . On July 26 Fred Ahmed Evans enters pleas of innocence to charges to l - r o shooting with intent kil a police tow t uck Operator , p ssession

o . narc tics , and possession of an automatic rifle

The Cleveland Pr ess- Ted R . Schneider Jr . Associated Press

Ch apt er 1 PR EL UD E TO TH E SHOOTING

i w as In the early years of the Republ c , Cleveland a small inland port settled n m by New Engla ders who had moved westward , with a s attering ofGerman on of merchants and Irish workers along the docks the south shore Lake Erie . 19 a Far into the th century , Clevel nd kept the complexion of a New England i . m town In the years follow ng the Civil War , however , surging com ercial growth and industrialization brought to Cleveland an influx of immigr ants E r 19 10 from eastern and southern u Ope . By these immigr ants and their chil ’ 7 5 of al dren made up percent the centr city s population . Separated from the d to old inhabitants by language , customs , and religion , fin ing the doors power l to ni and socia acceptance closed to them , the immigrants retreated eth c en ’ own l th e claves of their . Gradua ly they gained power in city s politics , but 20t l . in h the enclaves and ethnic loya ties remained Later the century , espe ciall of y after World War II , growing Cleveland experienced an influx Negroes f o h . out the South and Appalac ia In time , blacks constituted a sizable but an powerless d excluded minority in Cleveland . The recent history of the Negro struggle for equal ity in Cleveland parallels ’ 1960s il - that of other American cities . In the early , when the civ rights move w as in l m ment gaining force America , several sma l groups were for ed in Cleve i i . As land elsewhere , wh te participation was welcomed , and a wh te minister and hi s wife were among the prime organizers of the Cleveland chapter of the 2 1963 m 50 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 196 . By there were so e

- in al separate civil rights groups Cleveland , ranging from the moderate Nation Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to CORE (then

t al . considered radical) o the Black Muslims (then , and now , even more radic ) of 1963 P m In the spring , the Cleveland NAAC ade a move toward estab i m lishing unity among the various groups . Its efforts to un te with the ore militan t groups may have been less an expression of a new militant spirit than of the political instinct to keep alive and enhance its own standing in the com ni h ou t h ot mu tyV T e effort succeeded ; of a series of meetings during the f ni ghts o June emerged a new coalition , calling itself the United Freedom r i - Movement (UFM) . Its integ ated membership ncluded inner city ministers , an d leaders of the Jewish communi ty , traditional Negro leaders , some of ’ Cleveland s new breed of angry young black men .

l a . At best , th e new al i nce was tenuous Much of its success would depend on how well it could assure cooperation and unity from so m any diverse fac li a tions . A b al ance would have to be struck between moderate and mi tant p o to UFM m pr ach es . And survive , the would have to de onstrate that it could produce results . Sh oo t-Out in Cleveland

U ’ FM s , th e i of The first confrontation over . h ring practices contractors ’ no of building the city s Convention Center , ended in victory . In the fall ’ 3 al 196 . , the liance turned its attention to the city s school system Although to al se e ated m w as many Negro children were bussed ter the g g syste , there evi dence that receiving schools contrived to separate these children from the ’ whi te students . Relatively few of Cleveland s schoolchildren were in inte M grated classrooms . The UF set a list of dem ands before the Board of Educa t of i 23 m l . UFM t on , wi h a deadline September for co p iance The Board and m on dl representatives met in a series of closed eetings , and dea ine day basic to U M m n agreement seemed have been reached . F spokes e , however , argued o n ot l that informal agreements in closed sessi n were officia and binding . The m UFM following evening , after hearing a report from the steering co mittee , to members voted picket the Board of Education . The Board of Education responded to the picketing by scheduling a public “ 30 hi m os meeting September , at w ch it pro ised to take steps toward fullest p ” sible integr ation consistent with sound educational practice in the receiving ’ l 3 Re schools . The board a so promised to create Citizens Council on Human l ti ns UFM w as trium a o to r r . encourage t ue integ ation For the moment , the phant . a 1964 UFM w as to By J nuary , leaders concluded the board not living up

in . To es its promises . Meet gs with the board only deepened the frustration UFM l calate the pressure , the decided to take its picket ines to schools where

‘ ‘ l tw o anu ar black chi dren were being bussed . The first demonstrations , on J y 29 of , brought forth angry mobs of whites . At one the target schools , demon strators were forced off the sidewalk as a m ob tried to push them in the path a of passing automobiles . The next day , a demonstration pl nned at Murray ’ “ ” Hill School , in the heart of Cleveland s Little Italy , produced a more seri

m . w as ous n . a . co frontation At , when the demonstration scheduled to

of i . n begin , a crowd angry wh tes had already surrounded the school Ma y

s “ were young , and many had been een at the demonstrations the day before Reports that the m ob had formed deterred the demonstrators from attempt a ing to march on the school . Sensing that the demonstrators would not m rch , the crowd moved to a busy intersection in Little Italy and began to attack

Negroes driving by in their automobiles . hr and to T oughout the day , the mob remained continued attack those per ” — ceiv ed as enemies enemies that included a number of newsmen . At about to r midday , the mob attempted cha ge the area where the demonstrators had

s . c a sembled While poli e lines checked the advance of the crowd , the demon f strators left to assemble at another location several mil es away . By late a ter

of w as ou t of . noon , any thought a march on Murray Hill School the question ’ The Murray Hil l incident was the UFM s fiery baptism and a clear sign al of ’ w as the deepening rift between Cleveland s blacks and whites . It also a dem on strati on of s of the powerles ness the Negro community , as evidenced by the e a official respons from City Hall . Mayor R lph Locher took the position that

w as hi s . the school question outside jurisdiction And while the violence lasted , he considered requesting an injuncti on against the picketing . The police were al - ar so a bitter disappointment to the civil rights leaders . There had been no rests despite the fact that for an entir e day the Murray Hill mob roamed the n streets beating Negroes , newsmen , anyone who e raged them , and throwing rocks and bottles at passing automobiles . Prelu de to th e Sh ooting

a 3 1964 The rift grew even deeper when , on Febru ry , , demonstrators

- in P staged a sit at the Board of Education building . olice forcibly rem oved UFM al th em the next day . The had ready lost the sympathy of City Hall and now e the Board of Education ; the news media became dis nchanted . The pro “ ” “ ” too test had gone far , it had become too radical , the limit of tolerance had been reached . The community reaction also Opened wounds withi n the UFM itself; while the more mili tant members were demanding further and P more extreme measures , the NAAC faction Openly worried about the conse quences of the heightened level of protest . 4 UFM On February , the won a temporary victory . The Board of Educa ti on agreed to immediate diffusion of the bussed students on a level designed to induce integration . In March , however , it was evident that the board w as in i pushing forward the construction of three schools the Glenv lle area , the h w as of 1 68 black neig borhood that to be the scene racial violence in 9 . These schools would , by their location , introduce segregation into the school system once more . UFM on il 6 i P demonstrators , Apr , j o ned the Hazeldell arents Association , of ll of a group Glenvi e residents , in picketing one the school construction : m sites . A new tactic was introduced de onstrators threw themselves into of construction pits and in the way construction equipment . The next day onst tioii s re the demonstration was carried to another c ru c ite . The tactics : mained the same . The only difference was the result the Reverend Bruce hi to Klunder , the w te minister who had helped organize the local chapter of e CORE , placed hims lf behind a bulldozer and in the confusion was run over ll and ki ed .

Police sought to end the confrontation by dragging demonstrators away . ’ As of Klu nder s in evita word death spread , however , further violence became ble . Bands of angry Negroes roamed the streets , looted stores , and battled ’ Klun der s police late into the night . death would be long remembered in ’ Cleveland s black community . Blocked by a court injunction against further interference with school con — th e UFM— of m struction , over the obj ections its conservative me bers turned 20 85 to : of . a new tactic a boycott the schools On Monday , April , about ’ percent of the Negro students in Cleveland s public schools stayed home . The P of boycott was a yrrhic victory . Nonattendance blacks at predominantly whi te schools w as precisely what many white parents wanted . The boycott — not n im had been important in terms of money , power , or lasti g prestige the “ ” portant values of the power structure .

i of Dr . P In succeed ng months , a new superintendent schools , aul Briggs , significan tly reduced the crisis . Briggs shifted emphasis from integration to of quality education in each neighborhood . The shift undercut the efforts UFM own the . The emphasis on quality education in their neighborhoods mm i gained increasing acceptance in the Negro co un ty , especially as the con “ of P cept Black ower , with its emphasis on racial separatism , found more an d more adherents .

1965 Black Power gained in popularity in the black community during , but it sent shivers of anxiety into th e white enclaves of Cleveland . That sum mer Clevelanders witnessed on their television sets racial disturbances in other , 36 Sh oo t-Ou t in Clevel and

1 65 . t e 9 cities , including the riot in Watts In h fall of , several organizations of ‘ led b black militants emerged in Cleveland , y black nationalists . Traditional P now s fi organizations such as the NAAC , and even CORE , had increa ing dif hi culty generating support from the w te co mmunity . The only organization that continued to provide moral and financial support to the black group s the of w as . Council Churches , and its resources were limited In view of the m ounting tensions between the white and black communi of n ties , outbreaks violence were not wholly surprisi g . Beginning early in 1966 - , gang fights and physical assaults plagued the Superior Sowinski area . ill The Sowinski area , like the Murray H area , has been a white ethnic enclave ’ l in Cleveland s troubled East Side . As with the Murray Hi l area , antagonism hi w r toward Negroes runs gh in So inski . The Superior a ea bordering Sowinski a is predomin ntly Negro . r The attacks and gang fights continued th oughout the spring . Negro for of i youths were responsible some the assaults , wh te youths for others , but to the Negro community it was apparent that police responded much more hi “ ’ quickly and effectively when the victims were w te . If you re going to beat hi “ up those niggers , a policeman is said to have told a w te gang , take them P ’ down in the park [Sowinski ark] where we can t see it . On Wednesday 22 f o . evening , June , two Negro youths were attacked by a gang whites A crowd that gathered at Superior Avenue an d 90th Street confronted police n i h with their complaints , describing the attackers and poi t ng to the car t ey l . an r had ridden in , but the po ice made no move to investigate Some in the g yg e crowd threw rocks and bottles . Negro leaders met with th police the next day ; the police responded to their gri evances by sayin g they had problems all t not in over the ci y , that they were understaffed and overworked , that every ‘ ’ cident coul d d i be investigated , that inci ents like Wednesday even ng s attack occur all the time in racially mixed neighborhoods . w as s ac Violence broke out again Thursday evening . A Negro youth hot ,

to Corvair . cording eyewitnesses , by two white men in a blue The description

’

~ seemed to implicate the owner of a supermarket on Superior Avenue . Since th e n ot s : police would take any action , Negro youth took the initiative the

i - supermarket was burned to the ground . Other wh te owned businesses were ’ harassed during the evening s disturbance . ll of After sti another night violence , Mayor Locher met with Negro resi 25 of . dents the troubled area on Saturday , June He promised to investigate

for . their grievances . The tension subsided , at least the moment

of 1966 Superior Avenue , scene the June disturbances , is a broad thorough fare that carries Cleveland officew orkers home to the comfortable suburbs of of East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights . South Superior Avenue , roughly m e embracing the nu bered streets between the sev nties and the nineties , is the “ " neighborhood of Hough (pronounced huff It is a residential area of dete rioratin fram eh ou ses O l n al g , ld apartment bui dings , dwellings vacant and va d ’ - 195 os ized al l . , occasion sma l shops , and neighborhood bars Since the mid ,

Hough has been a predominantly Negro slum . of 18 1966 on of On the evening July , , a sign appeared the door a bar at “ ” f 79th : No . o and Hough Ave . Water for Niggers Residents the area were of hi enraged . A crowd gathered . The manager the bar and another w te man

38 Sh oo t-Ou t in Clevelan d

of A week later , controversy over the causes the rioting reached into the i f’ hearing rooms of Washington . Testifying before Senator R bicof s commit U S . tee investigating urban problems , Mayor Locher was confronted with the . ’ “ Attorney General s conclusion that it would be a tragic mistake to try to m mi ” say that the riots are the result of some aster nded plot . Mayor Locher , “ : I m of however , persisted . Locher argued would disagree with the state ents the Attorney General , and I would wholeheartedly agree with the conclusions made by the grand jury report .

of h ot of conflict There matters stood at the end the long summer , a war ing viewpoints hardened to a standstill as autumn arrived and quietly passed w as 1967 to an into winter . Then it , and perceptive observers looked ahead f mm o l . As 6 Cleveland other su er racia violence in Cleveland early as April , a “ Plain D ealer : e reporter noted Even very rational , v ry hopeful men and on women believe that Cleveland will be fire this summer . Like a seismograph picking up faint tremors that war n of a major earth ’ a a of on qu ke , the April newspapers recorded number fires Cleveland s East of r Side that may have been set by arsonists , and a series lootings a ound 5 th of 10 . Street , eastward the scene of the Hough riot The Cleveland Sub f mm o to U . on co ittee the Ohio State Advisory Committee the . S Commission Civil Rights visited the Hough area and saw there am ple evidence of the pov erty and frustration that would breed another riot .

Store fronts are boar ded up . Unoccupied houses have been vandal th e -fill ed of -out ized. Stench rises from debris basements burned build i ings . Litter fills street curb ngs . Garbage and trash are scattered in c i i c yards and vacant lots . Re ent surveys nd cate that in some ensus tracts as much as 80percen t of the 16- 2 1 age group is unemployed or school dropouts and that 25 percent of the midyear high school gr adu

ates seeking work are unable to find jobs .

’ Th e subcommittee s report noted that women in Hough were paying high - a prices for low qu lity food in neighborhood grocery stores , using welfare f of ov checks that were inadequate or a decent standar d living . The State g ernment h as n of , the report charged , been i different to the plight Hough resi s e dents ; o have th local authorities .

a ou l The policem n , if y can find one , still shows ittle interest in vacant or houses being stripped of equipment during daylight hours , the prosti tu tes on or of parade , the accosting resident mothers and daughters

walkin g home .

The national media shared the predicti on that Cleveland was ripe for burn Bartim ole all S tr eet Journal in . W g In late June , Roldo , a reporter , and Mur of n an ray Gruber , a faculty member Western Reserve U iversity , published “ ” con article in the Nation entitled Cleveland : Recipe for Violence . Their “ clusion : t All the elements for tragedy are now present in this ci y , self ‘ ’ i for l m . proclai ed Best Location in the Nat on It may be too late Cleve and , ” but th ere are lessons here for other cities that want to avoid disaster . A in Saturda Evenin Post : month later , the y g , staff writer John Skow noted is hard to fin d a city resident who believes Cleveland will go unburned ” through the summer . Prelu de to th e Sh oo ting

’

And . m yet , it didn t happen While Ta pa , Cincinnati , Atlanta Newark and , , D of 1967 etroit experienced maj or disorders during the summer , the lid stayed ’ on in Cleveland . Even Martin Luther King s peaceful efforts to press for bet ter j obs for Negroes met with indifferences in the Negro neighborhoods of ” Cleveland that summer . Scorned by the mayor as an extremist when he ar l “ rived in Apri , King announced in May that Cleveland would be a tar get city Le for the Southern Christian adership Conference . His most severe tactic against employers discriminating against Negroes would be a boycott of their ’ goods . King s campaign accomplished few of his aims , yet no one turned to violent means to abet hi s cause .

’ n for 1967 Expla ations Cleveland s quiet summer of abound . One contribu t in w as n of g cause , perhaps of minor importance , the cha neling hopes and gri ev l ances hr . . t ough the electora process Carl B Stokes , a Negro candidate w ho in 1965 hi of of had come wit n votes becoming the mayor Cleveland , was

a o . m so again ch llenging the incumbent , Ralph L cher Having co e close , Stokes ’ in 1967 had the avid backing and earnest hopes of Cleveland s black comm u t ni y. In 1965 Stokes had run as an independent and gai ned an advantage from the multiplicity of candidates . This time he was forced into the Democratic f P . r o primary race Seth Taft , g andson resident Taft and a prominent Cleve ’ as hi s if land Republican , had threatened to withdraw party s candidate ran as al Stokes an independent , for Taft c culated that he would be a certain

- r . on loser in a th ee way race Stokes , the other hand , calculated that since he to i s would have run aga nst Locher in either case , it would be ea ier to defeat f o . him in the primary , when a lower turnout voters could be expected 4 Stokes was correct . In the primary election of October , he defeated w as of Locher by a plurality of votes . The decisive factor the size the 40 of Negro turnout . Although Negroes constituted only about percent the registered voters , percent of them voted in the primary . Only per cent of the whi te voters cast b allots in the primary . hi The campai gn between Stokes and Taft was well fought . Both red pro fessional help for campaign promotion and poll taking ; both made personal appearances and Speeches frequently and throughout the city . They met in a

- series of televised debates in traditional Lincoln Douglas style . w on Am In the end , Stokes , becoming the first Negro mayor of a maj or eri ’ i as n can city . His victory was initially nterpreted Clevela d s triumph over al raci bigotry , an indication of a new openmindedness in American race rela m f al t tions . Exa ination o the voting data reve s this interpretation as op imis re tic . Support for Stokes was concentrated in the Negro wards , where he In hi r ceiv ed 95 percent of the vote . the predominantly w te wa ds he received hi s w as h only percent of the vote , and support lowest in the t ree wards with the hi ghest concentration of whi te ethn ic groups in the city . As a Negr o mayor Stokes was the subject of critical scrutiny by the public , “ n and of high expectations from those wh o had felt ig ored by previous , ma ” chi ne adm inistrations . His first few months in office were wrecked with dif ficul ties; there were minor politi cal scandals involving some of hi s early ap

ointees s uabblin s ofhis ni . p , and public q g among others admi stration The ’ turni ng point for Stokes came in the wake of Martin Luther King s assassination 4 1 68 on 9 . April , While other cities erupted in violence , Stokes took to the “ ” his v of a streets to keep brothers cool , effecti ely invoking the help bl ck na

tion alists . i f in keeping the peace Cleveland stayed quiet , and wh te citizens o Cleveland were satisfied that in Mayor Stokes they had an effective guar antee against further racial disorders . Many Clevelanders re alized that there would have to be substantive changes in the Negro ghettoes , and they stepped forward in May to support the ’ “ : am i to mayor s new program , Cleveland a c pa gn raise $ 1 to finance programs ranging from youth employment to rehabilitation of n m housi g to downtown economic development . So e of the proj ects were eli ible 2 P g for Federal matching funds , and on J uly Vice resident Humphrey came to Cleveland to announce a million grant to the Negro- run Hough Area Development Corporation for a program to help small businesses in the “ ” -t m to : o . "cam riot neighborhood By then , pledges the Cleveland Now ai n 4 m p g from businesses and citizens had reached the $ million ark . of With Optimism , and with a sense satisfaction over progress being made , mm f 1 Cleveland entered the su er o 968 . But some who could see beneath the calm surface were not optimistic .

of 1967 ca On the night the primary election in , a black militant leader , ’ v orti n i hi s g in the street , jubilant over Carl Stokes victory , ra sed hand in a “ good- will gesture toward a squad car of police nearby an d shouted Peace" “ ” For wh o ak m of Fred Evans , had t en the Afro na e Ahmed , it was a rare f w moment o truce in hi s personal ar with the police . in 1967 n Early , Ahmed Eva s had been arrested and convicted of assaulting P c c . poli e offi er James ayne , a Negro The war with the police was not , by ’ 1967 Evans assessment , one sided; three times during police had closed down hi s an d for Afro Culture Shop Bookstore , on Superior Avenue , alleged sani ” to tary violations . In interviews Evans referred the police , in classic black “ nationalist fashion , as the repressive element in a white establishment . 2 C. 1 3 1 ne of 1 i . S . 9 o Born in Greenville , , in , Evans was ch ldren His father ’ s l 193 0s was an un kil ed worker in a textile plant . In the late , seeking a better l in tu . a Oppor nity , the family moved to Cleveland Ev ns enro led public school

i ni . but quit before graduating from Rawl ngs Ju or High Tall and gangling , he “ ” w as a recalls that schoolmates called him Big Dumb . Convinced that he re lly

n . smarter than his peers , Eva s decided to go to work He held a variety ofj obs 1 48 before j oining the Army in 9 . m D . uring the Korean war , Evans served with a co bat engineer outfit He w as on suffered back , shoulder , and head injuries when a bridge he working s h w as r 195 2 w as on -a collap ed . W en he discha ged in , he the recipient half

al i . dozen med s for meritorious serv ce Back in Cleveland , Evans drove a bus of 1954 for the Cleveland Transit System , then , in February , reenlisted in the

hi his w as . Army . T s time se rvice far less distinguished Shortlyafter he was

- al i back in uniform , Evans was court marti ed for hitt ng an officer and sen ’ U S . tenced to a dishonorable discharge and 2 years confinement at the . Army his w D r . s isciplinary Ba racks at Fort Crowder , Mo Later sentence a reduced to an undesirable discharge and he w as released from Fort Crowder after a 7 - month term . Pre lu de to th e Sh oo ting

Evans had claimed that the injuries he had incurred in Korea left him with of severe headaches , partial loss vision , and recurring paralysis of the right side . He also claimed to be subject to occasional blackouts . It was during one of - al these blackouts , he said during court marti , that he struck the officer . ’ The records of the Army physicians corroborate Evans claims . Doctors found “ ” he was suffering from psychomotor epilepsy . Further testing disclosed that “ ” “ - r he has a paranoid type personality . A my records state : He h as much hostility , normally under control , but under stress he exhibits aggressive be havior . This condition could become progressive , causing him to act psychotic s m like under stress . After these examination , the Ar y release was decided 195 5 upon . Evans returned to Cleveland in October , the next year he took a P for job with the ennsylvania Railroad , and he worked that company for the next 10year s . ’ 19 60s In the early Evans became interested in astrology . I say a flying 79th saucer at and Kinsman , he recalls of the experience that changed hi s “ l . h l ife It hovered for aw i e and disappeared . That started me thinking about the stars and God and I thought that here I was thirty -three and Je sus had ’ - died at thirty three and I hadn t even got started yet . So I moved off by my to of i self study the science astrology and ph losophy . 1966 n w as of Toneli In , Eva s the disciple an astrologer named Emmett ( )

Cobb . When Cobb was confined at Lima State Hospital for the Criminally In

m . as sane , Evans (now Ah ed) stepped in to fill the gap Though dismissed an of a eccentric even by some the important young black leaders , Ev ns gained s an increasin g following in hi neighborhood of Glenville . He wore Afro garb and he spoke the rhetoric of black nationalism . Like others of the new gener of to ation militant leaders , most of whom had risen power after the civil ’ of 1960s i rights activities the early , he had seen the inside of a ja l , he preached an d - black separatism self help in the black community , and he advocated vio “ lence in retribution to the hostili ty of th e sic white society .

a in . Ahmed Ev ns also indulged prophecy He made national news when , in “ ” Wall of 1967 9 . March , he predicted that May would be a terrible day A S treet J ournal arti cle featured hi s prediction :

He [Ahmed] predicts May 9 wil l be the terrible day that the anger of ’ — hi s thi s city s black ghetto erupts into violence partly because , by cal cul ations l th e , that wil be the day when an eclipse of sun darkens the sk y.

9 ’ May passed without violence . While the rest of the world scoffed , Ahmed s misreading of the heavens seemed to cost him no loss of influence in Glen n i to ville . You g blacks cont nued congregate in his Afro Culture Shop and ’ of 1968 m r Bookstore . In the summer Ah ed s g oup received a grant of “ ” s from Cleveland : Now"funds to develop African crafts . From thi D benefaction , channeled through the Hough Area evelopment Corporation , it would have seemed that Ahmed Evans w as at peace with the white establish ment . But the world that had scoffed at a false prophet had not heard the last of m Ah ed .

Ch ap ter 2 A M IDSUM MER ’S NIG HTM ARE

i n of is Glenv lle , lyi g near the northeast corner Cleveland , a neighborhood of - m two and three story houses with broad front porches and s all front lawns . ’ In the 1940s Glenville was a largely Jewish area ; today it is very predomi for of nan tl . i y Negro Except pockets deterioration , t stands in tidy contrast

to to . the Hough area , lying the west For P ll n on atrolman Wi iam Kehoe , performi g traffic duty the East Side ,

23 1968 w as . f July , , a slow day Shortly after noon he called headquarters or

s . . for a possible as ignment Lt Edward Anderson , traffic coordinator the n P D to Clevela d olice epartment , assigned him check an abandoned autom o i ln b le the Glenvill e area . Anderson had received a telephone call about the “ f ” not . o car long before It was just a routine call an abandoned auto , he “ ’ mn as later recalled . I told the gentle a we d get to it as soon possible . I ’ ” l n . could t promise action that day Fo lowing standard procedure , Anderson ’ did not ask the caller s name . 1958 dill on 123d The car , a Ca ac , was Beulah Avenue , between East Street P a . n and L keview The left front tire was flat ; to atrolma Kehoe , it appeared ' “ ” s n t f the car w a a ju k car that had no been driven or some time . Neighbors confirmed that the car had been there many days ; none had any idea who m owned it . At p , Kehoe placed a parking ticket on the abandoned out for tow of car , then filled a routine report the truck division the police department . Kehoe expected that the car would be towed away before the evening rush

l McMill an Ro Bensl a No . 5 8 hour . But Wi liam and y y, operating tow truck , had other assignments that kept them from the pickup in Glenvill e until dusk . on ni They arrived Beulah Avenue in their u forms , which resemble standard police uniforms except that the j ackets are of the Eisenhower type . Cleve

- landers commonly assume that the tow truck operators are policemen , but in fact they are civilian employees and carry no weapons . Bensl a What happened next h as been recounted by McMill an . After y th e tru k d l McMill an backed / c up the Ca i lac , emerged from the cab to check “ the license plate number against the assignment card . The next thing I knew w as saw man u I shot in the back . I turned around and a with a shotg n firing ” from the side of a house on the corner of Lakeview .

McMill an ran to the front of th e tow truck to take cover . A second shot “ hit him t w as in the right side . Ano her sniper firing from the bushes just in for of ensl a hi of , front the truck . B y, crouc ng in the cab the truck radioed help . Then the shooting stopped . Sh oot-O u t in Clevelan d

A Negro with a carbine in his hand walked up the si dewalk and stopped ” M cMill an al just across from me , told a reporter sever days later . ” ou one of " Are y the sons of bitches stealing cars the Negro asked him . McMil l an pleaded that he w as unarmed and rose from the street to show that he had no weapon . The Negro raised the carbine to his shoulder and took M Mill 123 d . c an . bul aim ran toward Street As he turned the corner , another

in . M cMill let hit him the right side an kept running . Hal fway along the block a Negro woman shouted to M cMill an and offered

him . m refuge Inside the house he telephoned the police depart ent , but the M Mill . c an th e al lines were busy When he heard sirens , left house and w ked northward on 123d Street . After turnin g right on Oakland Avenue he spotted car hi a squad , w ch rushed him to a hospital . McMill an identified the Negro with the carbine as Fred (Ahmed) Evans . “ al am He so offered an explanation of the event . The snipers set up the “ th e l bush and used the tow truck as a decoy to bring po ice in , he said . They ”

all a n . had their crossfire pl n ed We all were sitting ducks . ’ Mil l s Mc an . ambush theory found ready acceptance Many Clevelanders , tw o and at least national news magazines , accepted it unquestioningly . But t of o her events that grim Tuesday , and the accounts of other eyewitnesses , t cast doubts upon the ambush heory .

" - 123 12 Ahmed lived in an apartment in a two story , red brick house at

- an d a of tow in . Auburndale , a block a h lf from the scene the truck shoot g On

23 tow - : the evening of July , shortly before the truck incident , he had visitors Ahm ’ l George Forbes , the city councilman from ed s area , and Wa ter Beach , a for n w as i of former halfback the Clevela d Browns , who the d rector the ’ on i to Mayor s Council Youth Opportunit es . According a summary of events , ’ to m . issued later by the mayor s office , the meeting lasted from p pm . Forbes and Beach had come from a meetin g at City Hall where Ahm ed had f a i m 2: 30 o s . been the subj ect nx ous di cussion The eeting , which began at t of hat afternoon , had been called by Inspector Lewis Coffey the Cleveland P l hi D . olice epartment Coffey had intel igence reports , w ch the police depart i r ment had obtained ch efly th ough the Federal Bureau of Investigation , that w of for arned of an outbreak violence planned Cleveland the next morning ,

u 24 8 am . J ly , at The central figures in the outbreak would be Ahmed and f hi s a o . group , the Black Nation lists New Libya ’ hm al A ed s group , according to the reports , had been assembling an arsen ’ n m of handguns and carbines and stashi g them in Ah ed s apartment . Some of P D on i the group had gone to ittsburgh , etroit , and Akron Sunday n ght to collect semiautom atic weapons ; a further trip to Detroit w as planned for

23 . i d Tuesday evening , July In add tion to the We nesday morning outbreak , the reports added , there was the possibility of simultaneous outbreaks in other 1 In s h n . Nort er cities Cleveland , five Negroes would be the targets of as assina l : . n m 0. a tion Mayor Carl B Stokes , Councilman Leo Jackso , Willia W ker of r Th e Clev eland Call Post i l (publisher the Negro newspape , ),Baxter H l , P and James ayne . Four of the targets were prominent Negroes ; the fifth ,

P w as m il of u . James ayne , the patrolman Ah ed had been found gu ty assa lting

46 Sh oot-Ou t in Cleveland

a to l to to t Councilm n Forbes and Walter Beach agreed ta k Ahmed , try o an d i hi s a cool him down work out a solut on to known griev nces . Forbes and as hm w as a Beach knew , many others knew , that A ed ngered over apparent r discriminations agai nst him in recent weeks . Wi th the g ant he had received “ ” : " m w as from Cleveland Now funds , Ah ed in the process of refurbishing a - on Hou h Av enue n dilapidated and long vacant store g , converting it i to an Afro

. f on American culture shop A ter investing considerable effort the cleanup , he w as n dl t n ow notified by the white la ord hat he could not use the store . And w as n his al he bei g evicted from apartment on Auburndale . After leg proceed 24- c w as ings , a hour noti e served by bailiffs earlier on Tuesday . (The apart ment actually w as not his ; it w as rented by a 16-year-old who had taken the of 3 African name Osu Bey .) m After the City Hall meeting broke up about 6 p . . Forbes and Beach ’ a h on drove toward the E st Side . On the way to Ahmed s ome they stopped c for i Superior Avenue at the Afro Set , a shop and gathering pla e young mil f . Harll el o f and tants Jones , leader the A ro Set , was not there , but Forbes Beach talked to one of the young members of the group who agreed to ac ’ on company them to Ahmed s home . The three drove eastward Superior

t i . m of Avenue , then turned sou h on Lakev ew At the co er Moulton Avenue , is to of saw which close the intersection Lakeview and Auburndale , they an “ ” w as unmarked car full of whi te people . It glaringly evident that the police

a one . had established a stationary surveillance rather than moving In fact , ’ another surveillance car w as facing Ahmed s apartment building from the op; osi e u m dal e 124 t d A bu . p irection , parked where joins East th Street Both cars f ’ contained onl y white officers ; both were in plain view o Ahmed s home . ’ Beach steered hi s car left onto Aubu m dale and parked in front of Ahm ed s

in . m apartment build g As the three men emerged from the car , Ah ed called to t them from a narrow passageway next o the building . In a backyard confer

out his i l i . ence , he poured apprehens on about the po ice surve llance There on him were , he said , even police the roof. The police had harassed before ; he was afrai d the surveillance w as leading up to another incident ofh arrass to to i ment . He urged Forbes and Beach try get the surve llance removed . ’ l i h e The men a so d scussed A med s eviction problems , and Forb s and Beach do 4 promised to what they could .

e hm . As When the conferenc ended , the visitors felt they had satisfied A ed “ t n to : hey were leavi g , he told them give a message to Mayor Stokes Tell the

Big Brother downtown that everything is going to be all right . Forbes decided that there w as nothi ng he could do at the scene to have the l wh o a r surveil ance removed . As a councilman , he knew the police usu lly wo k

hi s al . in district , but the surveillance teams were from a speci unit He judged t him or they would no recognize listen to him . r on The th ee men drove westward Superior Avenue , stopping first at the ’ - f o hm . Afro Set , then at a grocery store whose owner was a close friend A ed s

w as . The grocer not there Forbes and Beach , having left the third man at the f Harllel his A ro Set , then tried unsuccessfully to find Jones at home on Hough of e al P Avenue . At a nearby office the Cleveland L g Aid rogram , Forbes tele ’ M Man on di ask a . c am phoned Joseph F , Cleveland s safety rector , to th t the M cManam on surveillance be removed . advised him to call Mayor Stokes , who ’ a had returned from W shington , and gave him the mayor s private phone num ber . While Forbes and Stokes were on the phone discussing what they could ’ A Mi dsu mm er s Nigh tm are

’ do m to sa about Ahmed s proble s , a voice broke in y that there was an em er

enc a for . to in 5 in g y c ll the mayor Stokes asked Forbes call back about m utes . Harll el Forbes and Beach returned to the home of Jones , this time findin g f him . o there While they were talking , a member the Afro Set came in to re i n i . m port that shooting had begun Glenv lle Forbes called the ayor . Stokes al ready had the news . The emergency call had come from Safety Director

McMan am on . The Glenville disturbance had been ignited .

a:

Wh o " " h ow shot first And at whom Various accounts of where , , and why the shooting started have appeared . Even after extensive investigation , ques tions remain unanswered . of h e of ll and Accounts t activities the survei ance teams , of what they ob th e i n served , have been provided by pol cemen in the surveilla ce cars . Three ’ m —O Mal le a — in patrol en y, Sweeney , and G llagher were the unmarked car at ’ 124th al and Auburnd e , facing westward toward Ahmed s house . When they 6 m o l arrived at p . . , about a dozen Negr es , including women and chi dren , were 123 1 l i n on the 2 a . a porch at Auburnd le About h f were dressed Afro garb , l c k the al . hr others convention ly The po i emen ept watch t ough binoculars . i n lm Later the evening , shortly before Counci an Forbes and Walter Beach ar t saw arri ei n a v . rived the apartment , they Ahmed himself a red Volkswagen l n o Evident y o ne was on the porch at this time . ’ l O Mall e Short y after Beach and Forbes left , according to James y, a Negro i out of 123 12 hm carry ng a carbine came Auburndale and stood guar d . A ed out 16 n an came a short while later , followed by about others carryi g arms d wearing bandoliers . The man who had come out first crossed the street ,

r to hi s hi s . d opped knees , and pointed rifle toward the surveillance car ’ O M all ey radioed for instructions and was told to get out of the area imme l m . diate . y The time , he recalls , was p Patr om an 124th Gallagher , driving the surveillance car , turned left onto ’ to r O M alle saw tw o Street escape from the a ea . As they were leaving , y men get into a Ford station wagon and set off in pursuit of the surveillance car . sta The policemen heard a shot ; it did not hit their car . Moments later the u s tion wagon halted the p r uit , turned around , and headed back toward

Auburndal e . Patrolrnen — Thomas Gerrity and Thomas Horgan were in the other surveil ' ' ’

. an d lance car parked at the corner of Lakeview Moulton , facing Ahmed s too s on house from the Opposite direction . They , , ob erved the people the th e al in al porch , later arriv of Ah med the red Volkswagen , and the arriv and hm ’ departure of Councilm an Forbes and Wal ter Beach . When A ed s group m out of s n al ca e the hou e , according to Horga , sever of the men headed to a l w rd their surveil lan ce car . The survei lance car turned left onto Lakeview ,

s . r heading northward toward Superior Avenue , to e cape A green Chev olet a h followed them , Gerrity and Horgan heard sever l s ots , but none hit their

to r to ou t of . car . Horgan broadcast a warning other police ca s stay the area

A s their car headed west on Superior Avenue , Horgan heard a broadcast

- about the tow truck operator being fired upon . Gerrity and Horgan turned i southward back toward the scene of trouble . When they arrived with n view , f saw tow - u ni o the tow truck , says Horgan , they the truck operator r n ng with ll his han ds up and an armed black nationalist chasing him . Then the survei ance Sh oot-Ou t in Cleveland

m 23 car was struck by fire coming fro 1 d and Beulah . Bullets hit the wind shield and the hood and demolished the grille . Gerrity and Horgan returned n tw o i hi tow l the fire , shooti g toward snipers hid ng be nd the truck , unti their sou h t a e ammuni tion w as exhausted . Then they g gsc p northward on 123d i ll ir of t . a u Street By the t me they were back on Superior , four t es heir s rveil th e l lance car were flat . When Gerrity returned to po ice station , a colleague “ a th e 28- -old m w as - so rec lled , year patrol an dry vomiting and shaking hard he put his hand on the letter basket and the whole table shoo to According Lt . Burt Miller , who had been assigned by the police depart to th e of 23 ment reconstruct history the events of July , other police cars “ on e n th e tow were the scene when G rrity and Horga approached truck . They t h a engaged , with other cars hat were arriving , in a fire fig t with m les that were ”

ar a on 9 . c rying weapons , he told a City H ll press conference August Thus , on u - al s ha police cars had converged the scene and the f ll sc e hootout d begun. hr to i i tw o T ee males , according Lieutenant M ller , were firing at pol ce from and a or e on corners of Lakeview Beul h; a fourth lay , wounded d ad , the side 123 walk at d and Beulah . of r to By the testimony the surveillance teams , then , they were the fi st be

n ot r . or obvi fired upon , the tow t uck Rightly wrongly , Ahmed regarded the ’ ous of s as presence the urveillance cars over several hours time threatening . tow now w as n ot am The truck , it appears , the deliberate target of a planned bush but arrived at the wrong place at the wrong time . Inspector Lewis Coffey took this view in an interview publish ed in the Plain Deal er 3 days after the “ c to tow on al t event . A cording Coffey , the truck arrived Beulah Avenue mos ” “ simultaneously with the initial shootin gs at the su rveillance cars . Then he ” gets it . The validity of the ambush theory can be examined in the light of other i For one a of informat on . thing , it has been est blished that the owner the aban doned car cannot be impli cated in any plot to dr aw tow- truck operators f 1958 l or . nr . o police to the scene He y R Leftwich , owner the Cadi lac , had loaned the car to a friend while he w as hospitalized for long- term treatment His w u on 6 of . as a back injury friend ret rning the car Sunday , July , when it ” 6 e broke down on Beulah Avenue . He left it there ; 2 weeks later , L ftwich still had done nothing about removing the car . s on B of 23 Of the equence of events eulah Avenue during the evening July , ot ai there were several eyewitness reports . N all of them accord with the cl m of i m M cMillan tow - e w as s Will a , the truck Op rator , that he shot very oon after th e of arrivirig at abandoned car . Residents the area have reported seeing the tow - truck officers examining the automobile fdr a period of time before the a f hi s as MoMil outbre k o shooting . A man and wife drove by the tow truck r to of lan w as getting out to examine the Cadillac . They d ove the intersection a to L keview , turned left and proceeded two blocks Superior , turned left t w ai an d r . o ag n , in that time hea d no shots Other witnesses claim that the truck operators were confronted by an individual who seemed to ar gue with al a to r them . This individu w lked away , only reappea with the snipers some h v al w h o con time later . One resident interviewed claimed t at the indi idu

- fronted the tow truck operators then walked away and made a telephone call . Such a call could have been directed to Ahmed and al so coul d have prompted ’ th e movement from Ahmed s home or given it direction after the movement had started . ’ A Midsu mmer s Nigh tm are

a The offici l police log lends weight to the evidence , supplied by the ac ’ of ll - e counts survei ance car activity , that th movement away from Ahm ed s s h McMill an hou e , and some of the actual s ooting , occurred before was shot . w The to truck placed its call for help at pm . The first radio report of shooting came 4 minutes earlier in a conversation between the di spatch ery 604 hi 604 and Car (w ch was not one of the surveillance cars) . Car gave its position as 123d and Beulah . Since this is close to the location of the tow tow n truck , it tends to support the conclusion that the truck was i advertently an d trapped in the crossfire between police snipers . A puzzling claim was made in a chronology of events released by the ’ on mayor s office at the press conference August 9 . According to this chro “ nol o m . to gy, at p the tow truck gets [a] call pick up the abandoned

Cadillac . This invites the inference that some citizen had telephoned the po lice department Tuesday evening with the in tention of luring the tow truck to . ot into a trap Except in response dangerous accidents , it is n usual operat ing procedure for a tow truck to be in structed by headquarters to go imm edi t ately to ow a car . And it has been established that the automobile had been n ar on - exami ed e lier Tuesday and the tow sheet report prepared then . Against theories of an ambush or well- planned conspiracy stands the evi dence that on Tuesday evening Ahmed was annoyed and apprehensive about l sentirn ents t o l th e police surveil ance . He expressed such Wa ter Beach and l “ George Forbes . He had memories of po ice violence in Akron . So we armed ”

w as . ourselves . And what followed chaos r in Cleveland Pr ss 2 m In an inte view published the e , August , Ah ed offered hi s version ofhi s m ovements after leaving the house :

I w as heading for th e Lakeview Tavern [at the corner of Auburndal e and Lakeview] when I heard some shots coming from the end of the

n . street . Then one of the brothers passed me ru ning Some policemen ’ in a blue detective s car opened up with a machinegun and he w as dead . SO I ran into a yar d and I began trading shots with a poli ceman behi nd a ’ ’

him . hi t . parked car . I couldn t him I wasn t coming anywhere close to

And then my carbine jammed .

to hm hi d fix According A ed , he then in bushes and tried to the carbine , but without success . for Ahm In an interview this study , ed said that he had rounded the corner to and was walking on Lakeview when he heard th e fir st shot . When he went

- tow . investigate , he saw the truck operator running along Beulah Then , he subm achine un said , he heard what sounded like a g blast ; he later concluded

his . that thi s was the fire that kill ed Arnir Iber Katir , one of followers (The ll of wh o account by Lt . Mi er and the observations a radio reporter arrived at the scene support the conclusion that the first person killed was a black na ’ al w oundszth e tionalist . The corner s autopsy reve ed four bullet right chest , “ 5 : am right thigh , left leg , and left thigh . ) Ahmed has concluded We were

not . bushed , the police

An eyewitness recalled that Ahm ed came down the street very coolly . By

. a , the time he got to Beulah , the shooting had begun Ahmed , s id the witness m w as carrying an automatic weapon , and when he reached the co er he started hm hi h is A ed mself, he came down later . On side , and when he came hi s down with the automatic rifle or machinegun , whichever it be , rifle

r all . d owned the other guns He came down peacefully . He came ’ of w h er h e down the left side the street and g turned the corner , that s

when all hell broke loose .

h as not Ahmed admitted that he did have total control of the situation . “ i a w as h ad There were many nat on lists involved and he only one . I come to f 23 . o d be the leader But the night the , there was no leader . After we got ” w as f ou r or i . guns , it every man h mself

a:

In 1- the hour period between pm . and pm . on Tuesday even s 22 k l or ing , at lea t people were i led injured in the raging gun battle between s police and snipers . The maj or hooting occurred along Lakeview Avenue be u a of 300 an d tween Be l h Avenue and Auburndale , a distance less than yards , n ra ged no more than a block each way on side streets .

- is to out . ak s The area no place hold a shoot L eview it elf is narrow . The f are o odd . side streets even narrower , and some them jut at angles Houses a is are close together , sometimes separated by narrow p ssageways . There little room to maneuve r

m . t abOut . When a radio call for assistance went ou p , it was an all ” P l r units call ; any available unit in the city could respond . o ice th oughout t l t s the ci y eft heir regular patrols and ru hed to the scene , anxious to help 40 5 0 their comr ades in trouble . A radio newsman estimated there were to “ police officers when he arrived at pm . Later there were several hun ”

n Cleveland Press . u dred officers , accordi g to the Nearby streets accum lated long lines of abandoned patrol cars as police parked their cars as close to the 6 and to . shooting as possible , grabbed their weapons , ran lend assistance P The battle that ensued w as a combination of confusion and panic . olice i or enthusiast cally rushed into the area without knowing precisely , even gen erall h n a y, what they were rus ing i to . The response had l rgely been personal initiative rather than planned reaction and an orderly show of controlled “P c . force . Each offi er grabbed his gun and did what he could erhaps some ” “

a hi s . snipers were shot and killed , a policeman rec lled of experience I fired , ” m w as one a . mostly at shadows . No ssumed com and There no orderly way toreport to headquarters and no way for headquarters to issue directives .

Police had largely abandoned their radios when they left their car s . ni al : After the i ti shooting , the violence clustered around three locations East 123d and Beulah (location of the tow truck) ; tw o adj oining houses on a 139 1 123 12 al L keview ( and and , the Lakeview Tavern and Auburnd e ’ (Ahm ed s residence) . Among the first to respond to the call for assistance were Patrolrn en Joseph M M k 5 1 e c anam on and Chester Szu al ski in Car 9 . They approach d the area “ ’ h e 12 t i 3d . from south , driv ng up Street I didn t see any people , any children ” “ o l ski l 1 1 w as r Szuka . A1 anyone playing , recal s could see the yellow tow ” truck parked on the northeast com er of 123d and Beulah . As McManam on u of tow hit p lled in front the truck , shots the patrol car o out on the passenger side where Szukal ski w as sitti ng . B th men crawled the ’ k l ski w d Szu a as . river s side , but hit before he escaped ’ A Midsum m er s Nigh tm are

hi t ’ I got in the right forearm first , but I couldn t see where the shots I ust were comin g from . j knew they were coming from my right and

i h . t from a h g er elevation As I tried to crawl to safe y , I was hit in the as hit h . w m e right thig It the third shot that that really wrecked me . one hi t tu That my right calf, causing a compound frac re of my right

hi t . leg , then my left calf By then I could hardly crawl . The pain w as

f . a n aw ul I crawled about thirty or forty feet to a building , w iti g for Szukal ski McMan am on t help . We [ and ] could see o her policemen in ’ n so i the area , but they couldn t get to us because the gu fire was, ntense

and constant . We waited about fifteen minutes for our buddies to get

us out .

McMan am on was slightly wounded by fragments from the bullet th at broke ’ ski Szukal s leg . As Arni r Iber Katir lay dying on the sidewalk and more police cars con on verged the scene , the snipers on Beulah Avenue retreated across Lakeview into the narrow alley that is an extension of Beulah . With police in pursuit they turned right into the alley parallel to Lakeview and began exchanging fire with police from between the houses . Some forced their way into the two and- a- l - 1395 ha f story frame house at Lakeview and occupied the second floor . Beatrice Flagg was watching television in her first-floora partment when the sh ooting started .

They started shooting and I was afraid to look out . I told my kids to ou t w as get down on the ground and pray . I looked and there an army l ot of ofp01ice there . I could hear a loud swearing upstairs . I begged ’ r o the police to stop shooting but they wouldn t listen . I ba red the d or ’ because I didn t want anybody to get in and then Ij ust got back down

on the ground . fill Mrs . Flag and her children escaped from the house after tear gas began to M s P 9- r . her living room . Henry erryman , on the second floor with her month 7 old to . baby , also managed escape Police then occupied the first floor of the house next door ( 139 1 Lake

tw o P E. view) . In the area between the buildings , atrolman Louis Golonka P o of w as k . shot and illed olice , firing at armed men in the alley from wind ws 139 1 a l L keview , killed Sidney Curtis Taylor (Ma ik Ali Bey) and wounded s Lathan Donald (Londue) . From nearby bu hes a man rose and tried to fire at ’ P ol onka s n police . icking up Patrolman G shotgun , a policema fatally shot the

w h o D ondu of D l . man , was Bernard onald (N Bey) , brother Lathan ona d The — — one bodies oft he three black nationalists two dead , severely injured lay in the alley amid carbines and bandoliers until after midnight . An other gun battle w as raging at the in tersection of Auburndale and Lake P 5 05 re view . atrolman Kenneth Gibbons and Willard Wolff, in Car , had sponded to the cal l for assi stance and reportedly were the first to arrive at the : intersection . Another policeman was on the scene , however an unidentified “ ” ’ As plainclothesman struggling with a young punk near Ahmed s house . h e to i - u hi t they left t car assist , a h gh powered b llet the motor and the car ex

e h s ; k . pl od d. Gibbons was s ot and seriou ly injured Wolff was illed ts al Au Sg . Sam Levy and Bill Moran so were among the first to arrive at

. burndale an d Lakeview . They heard shots coming from backyards Levy de sc ribes their response : 5 2 Sh oot-O u t in Cleveland

We dodged thr ough the yards and crawled al ong to the back of the

Lakeview Tavern , where I saw shells on the ground . I got to the north east corner of Auburndal e and Lakeview and I saw some empty amm u ni tion clips in the driveway behi nd the I started up the driveway his: w as and I must have gone about three steps en I hit . I dove into i the gutter and tried to get beh nd a car parked near the intersection . an w They kept shooting d I as hit again . They shot at anybody who

w Levy took refuge under the parked car . He as stranded for nearly an hour before help could reach him . m Lt . El er Joseph entered Auburndale from Lakeview about the same time e w as w as l w as hi t that Sergeant L vy wounded . He on the sidewa k when he ; w as al he managed to get himw to cover . Lieutenant Joseph so stranded for 50- -ol m . r d w as o al ost an hour Henry Orange , a yea civilian , w unded at about a i P i s . w a the same time , llegedly while assist ng police atrolman R chard Hart n shot in the back , apparently by a sniper hidi g in a dark doorway , then hit l as of ak severa more times he writhed in the middle L eview . e Di h ead u ar Lt . Leroy James and Sergeant G ntile stopped at Sixth strict q “ ” to a for i ters pick up extra weapons after they heard the c ll ass stance . They t 124 Au en ered the battleground area from East th Street , thus approaching burndale from the east . They parked and continued to Auburndale on foot . As l i m al e eutenant Jones turned the co er onto Auburnd e , Sergeant G ntile ,

" e him to see b hind , heard heavy fire . Gentile hurried around the corner , only of Jones fall to the sidewalk in the middle the block . Gentile attempted to hi s approach Jones , but the heavy fire kept him from reaching wounded partner . P atrolrnen Angelo Santa Maria and Steve Sopko al so rushed to the scene . so r By the time they got there , many police ca s were in the area that they had r r to pa k two blocks away . While Sopko headed in another di ection , Santa

Maria ran behind the houses on Auburndale . From there he could see a police “ on officer lying the sidewalk . I yelled to other police under cover across the ‘ ’ ‘ ’ t o " Wh is . s reet , it They yelled back , Lieutenant Jones k al s for Then , says Santa Maria , he tal ed to sever Negro bystanders , a king a volunteer to drive a car alongside Lieutenant Jones so that S anta Maria could al man m drag him into it . Sever offered help ; Santa Maria chose a who police

fi - - wh ol i ed as . 22 old n v later identi ed James E Chapman , a year fili g clerk next ’

o to ot car . do r the Lakeview Tavern . Santa Maria g into Chapman s

I told him to drive up parall el to Jones and throw himself on the floor

and I would try to drag Jones in . But cars were parked bumper to

ou t . bumper . We both got and separated , trying to get around them

On the sidewalk a sergeant met me . We decided to throw a smoke bomb f or cover .

to Cleveland Press hi s Then , according the , the sergeant opened up with sub ”

to a . machinegun protect S nta Maria , who went into the smoke to get Jones not is a (Cleveland police are issued automatic weapons , and it gainst regula to s th e : tions po sess them .) Santa Maria describes rescue

I gr abbed hi s legs and started to drag him out when I w as hit in the ’

. m back I tried to crawl but I didn t get very far . So e policeman [later

5 4 Sh oot-Ou t in Clevelan d

’ P to Ah . h house next door med s John illips , the arresting officer , later testi fied in juvenile court that he found Hardrick hiding in the bedroom where hi - in P r . r th ee more gh powered rifles were also found Accord g to hillips , Ha d b hi s e r o n on rick said he had een given rifle by Ahrn d‘a u d pm . the even f 2 him ing o Jul y 3 . Ahm ed showed how to use the rifle and told him to be P lli al . on the ert Jackson , said hi ps , had been given his rifle by a sniper who m of l di ca e down from the roof the bui ng after the shooting started . Both “ P i d n or youths , h llips told the court , a mitted to firi g their rifles four five ” i times during the even ng . No other individual s apprehended in the vicinity of Auburndale and Lake for h view were charged by police participating in the s ooting .

=I¢

of 23d P - On the evening July , Henry erryman , minister of a store front on on of al church Superior Avenue , was his way to Akron , scene recent raci “ ” His f u . car o dist rbances , to help cool things down radio brought news the P shootings in hi s Cleveland neighborhood . erryman turned around and sped ll to homeward . He arrived back in Glenvi e discover that police were firing at hi s 13 5 snipers in own house at 9 Lakeview . D s of l P en istraught , fearful for the afety his fami y , erryman attempted to “ ”

a hi m . f ter the house , but a policem n held back That man saved my li e , says

P hi s an 9 - - l so o d n . erryman . He found wife d month in safety across the street - -old P Eleven year Michael erryman , who had left the house early in the even

w as . ing , nowhere to be found 1395 in A fierce gun battle raged around Lakeview , last g long after the P shooting had subsided at Auburndale and Lakeview . olice reported that the to snipers were fir ing wildly from every floor of the house . They called a

i . sniper in the basement to surrender , but he answered them with Ob scen ties i fi At one point , accord ng to the police , a man came out of the house and red 5 1 a weapon randomly from the ar eaway between 139 and 39 1 . He returned

e hi m . to the house , and , when he appeared at a window , polic shot and felled e fi n th c . The shooting from the rst floor stopped , but conti ued from se ond

n s . Around mid ight , a group of police attempted to storm the hou e They got thr ough one door ; a locked second door barred them from access to the off be second floor . They shot the lock but then encountered a steel wedge i d h nd the door . Furniture and bed ing were leaning against the door on the

u to on . other side . They co ld not get the sniper the second floor The body of i wh o fi the sn per had been shooting from the rst floor , they reported , lay on th e kitchen floor dead . “ n At this time , Lieutena t Miller reported at the City Hall press confer “ ” h on 9 . as ence August , the house erupted in flames The cause of the fire i th e not been determined , but res dents of the area are convinced that police P h as a lea to of set the fire themselves . Henry erryman made p the city Cleve land for compensation for the destruction of his home . Perryman watched his home burn to the ground; the house next door P l ( 139 1 Lakeview) catch fire and burn also . o ice reported hearing shouts of “ ” “ ” ’ 5 P 1 1- -old a Al i i 139 . Omar , Om r and come from with n erryman s year ni a son had still not been found . Fire department u ts made no attempt to p proach the burning structures to extinguish the flames . ’ A Midsu mm er s Nigh tm are

Among others watching the buildings consumed in flam es were Council D man George Forbes , Law irector Clarence James , Walter Beach , and three “ ” k : Harll el l other blac leaders Jones , Wilbur Grattan , and A bert Breeze For

est . Forbes , Beach , and Jones , together with Baxter Hill , had been active throughout the evening trying to restore peace , trying to talk to the snipers but unable to get near because of the shooting . James had been touring the ’ r troubled a ea as the Mayor s eyewitness and reporter . a Harll el t o When the two L keview houses began to burn , Jones wanted make sure that everyone had been removed from them . He , Forbes , Grattan , As and Forest approached the burning buildings . Jones got to the alley be hi of nd the houses , he noticed that the bodies the shot snipers were still lying f the i . o d there One bo ies was beginn ng to burn ; Jones dragged it away . D ll l hi Lathan onald , sti a ive , was also in danger of catc ng fire . With the help f Harllel al o the other men , Jones got Don d onto a stretcher ; Grattan and ll Forest began to carry the wounded man from the a ey . According to the re t of a D d por s those attempting to assist Lath n onal , unidentified police offi c w h o ers ( had removed their badges) attacked Grattan and Forest , beating to them severely , saying Leave that nigger here die . Grattan and Forest re l treated without the stretcher , but managed to te l two Negro policemen about the incident before leaving the area . hil All the w e Forest , Grattan , and Jones were investigating the dead and l am Di wounded behind the burning bui dings , Clarence J es , Assistant Safety o an d and rect r Fr k Moss , and others remaine by their cars at Beulah Lakeview . of a There they became near victims the chaos . J mes described what hap pened :

Now there were a lot of shells exploding ; it looked like they were bu m l ing she ls . As I turned toward the car there were people lined up on the

porches and everything , and an awful lot of police officers were there . I

ar . turned back toward the c . I heard two shots It probably was my “ ” " of imagination , but I thought I heard the ing one , and I dropped

“

right down to my knees by the car . Frank Moss was just diagonally

[across from me] I could see him . He spun [around] and started to a m draw his revolver . Boy , everybody was l ost in a freeze position , i and I got a little scared . I made up my m nd I was going to get the o t hell u of there .

not wh o h James does know fired the s ots , but he does not dismiss the possi bility that the one th at came close to him was fired by a policeman . an d a About this time , Grattan Forest emerged from the lley , Forest bleed Harll el ing and in pain . Clarence James and Jones took Forest to Forest City

al . . Hospit There , James placed a call to Mayor Stokes Stokes spoke with Harll l W i e Jones , h o was outraged over pol ce conduct during the incident , and D managed to calm hi m down . Later , Lathan onald was brought to the prison ward of Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital by tw o Negro policem en who had taken him from the alley . Henry Perryman and hi s wife kept a vigil on their burning house late in to

Tw o . the night . cars in their driveway went up in flames Perryman was injured in a scuffle with a young mili tant who had shouted “ ” P at him : This is only the beginning . The next morning , as erryman picked 5 6 Sh oot-O u t in Clevelan d

m h m his son a ong the as es , looking for redee able possessions , Michael , having spent the night at the home of friends , returned . 30 l On July , a week after the incident , a city power shovel p ied back and of tw o l ookii for th e di forth amid the rubble the houses , g bo es of the two snipers whom police had reported occupying 1395 and wh o were pre sumed

di . burned in the fire . No bo es were found

m . P At p . , before the fire in the erryman house started , a call went “ i : 1384 a : to out over the police rad o L keview front door open , man wants to l m to . m es give hi self up , wants [ surrender ] Negro policemen A simi ar

out m . h sage went at p T is time , three white policemen , Sgt . Ronald P D u 1384 Heinz , atrolmen avid Hicks and John C llen , approached Lakeview to apprehend the m an who wished to surrender . Fred (Ahm ed) Evans s emerged from the hou e , shirtless , wearing slacks and sandals . The house from whi ch Ahm ed came w as across the street from the Perry im 1384 r man house . The only t es that Lakeview appea ed in official police ’ chronologies and records were the two broadcasts offering Ahmed s sur 10 render . “ Ah to : When med emerged , he was reported have asked How are my ” “ " ll : for people Told that at least three had been ki ed , he replied They died

m 17 hi s . a worthy cause . Ah ed said he had in group l Ah hi s w as t to the s When po ice asked med where weapon , he poin ed bu hes f of . i o in front the house The police found a toga , a loaded carb ne , five boxes “ ’ i an first- : d . n ammun tion , a aid kit Ahmed explai ed If my carbine hadn t ll ou j ammed I would have ki ed you three . I had y in my sights when my rifle to u of jammed . Before taking him central headq arters , one the policemen “ ” “ h : ou " asked A med Why did y start all this He replied , You police have ” s 1 1 bothered u too long .

Though the battle between police and snipers waged past midnight , the casualties of that battle occurred withi n the first hour of the shooting . ’ on 9 A chronology of events , issued by the Mayor s office August , lists the following casual ties :

1 3 A r ound E. 2 d S t. and B eulah

Willi am M cMil l an (tow - tr uck Oper ator) es e Szuk Ptl . Ch t r al ski Ptl ose h M cM anam on . J p Ler oy Mansfield William s (su spec t)

A rou nd 13 91 and 13 95 Lakeview

o is Ptl . L u Golonk a Sidney Taylor Curti s (su sp ec t) Bernard D onal d ( su spect) Lath an Donald (su spect)

4 u dal A round th e Lakeview Tavern , 1231 2, and 1 23 1 . A burn e

at a e i ew and u urn al e a. L k v A b d

e h Ptl . K nnet Gibb ons am ue Sgt . S l Levy Henry Orange (civili an) ’ A Midsu m m er s Nigh tm are

m er ose h Lt . El J p ch ar ar Ptl . Ri d H t e n Szalki w icz Ptl . L o ar d e es w e Ptl . Ern t Ro ll P l Th om as mi h t . S t

at th e a e ew a ern : b . L k vi T v

l n h on Sh erbin ski Pt . A t y J oh n Pegu es (civilian )

i n th e vi cinity of 123 12 and 123 14 Auburn dale

o ones Lt . Ler y J n e o an a ar ia Ptl . A g l S t M w oun ded am es h a m an ci ilian J E . C p ( v )

. m . asua : 3 ll 12 Thus , by p , the official c lty list read police ki ed , in McMill an tow - 3 ll 1 jured (counting , the truck Operator) ; suspects ki ed , 2 7 wounded ; l civilian killed , injured . The count shows lives lost and 15 in l of 22 12 dividual s : a . wounded a tot . casualties

REFERENCES

a ress c on erence on u 24 , a or S o es n am e our ci ies h a accor in At p f J ly M y t k d f t t t , d g to th e in elli ence re or s w ere ar e e for simu aneous ol ence : e elan t g p t , t g t d lt vi Cl v d ,

h ca o e r o and Pi s ur h . O h ers reca h a tw o o h er ci ies w ere nam e C i g , D t it , tt b g t ll t t t t d in th e : O re or s r on hi o an d New Yor . p t Ak , , k City In ril 1969 urin th e m ur er rial of re hm e ans th e r osecu i on Ap , d g d t F d (A d) Ev , p t establish ed th at a gu n-buying spree h ad taken place and th at Ahm ed w as one of th e ch pur asers . Oth er sides of th e evicti on stories w ere investigated by th e Cl eveland Plain D ealer u ish A 2 s o esm an for th e ow n er of th e sh o on ou h enue and p bl ed ug. . A p k p H g Av said th at after m aking a verbal agreem ent th r ough h er attorney to ren t th e sh op to “ hm e th e ow ner an e er w ow ec e n ot to ren th e s ore ec au se it A d , , ld ly id , d id d t t b w ould tak e m ore th an to in stall toil ets an d r epair th e furnace at a tim e ” N e of h is th e S o es w h en ne o i a i ons h ad s e se e uil in . o i g t t tart d to ll th b d g t fi d t , p k m an sai Ahm e con inue to occu th e uil in an d re air it es i e re ea e d , d t d py b d g p , d p t p t d in o e si nce ro es s. cc or in to th e S o esm an th e issue of race w as not p t t A d g p k , v lv d ,

ren er s of a o nin s ores e on in to th e sam e ow ner inc u e Ne roes. t dj i g t , b l g g , l d d g Osu Be w as n o i e on u ne 15 w h en his ren w as 6 w ee s in arrears ha h e y t fi d J , t k , t t c s Th e c ase w as rou h to cour on ul 22 w ould b e evi ted fr om hi apar tm ent . b g t t J y , Th e own er of 123 12 u urn al e and th e evic tion n otice w as served th e next day. A b d “ ” said Bey h ad been permitting as m any as eigh t to ten c ouples to sleep in th e

a ar m en in ol a i on of h ou sin or inances. p t t , vi t g d c h ere h e h ad w it Ahm ed h ad recen tly vi sited Akr on during a r aci al distu rban e . T “ e h ad osse nessed a p olice attack on th e office of a black nati onal ist gr ou p . Th y t d Th e oc e th e eo e insi e for ear as insi e h en ica e all th e oors . t g d , t b arr d d d y bl k d p pl d a ou 1 min h en w h en h e w ere h al -su oca e h e w en in si e an d b t 5 u tes an d t , t y f ff t d , t y t d ” om en and i s too . On u us 2 started hittihg th em w ith th eir bill y clubs. W k d , A g t “ th e olice ro e u on th e 23d h e w oul d tell a Cl eveland Press rep orter : Wh en p d v p , al sur eil ance b u t h en w e remem ere w e th ou gh t at fir st it might b e j u st norm v l , t b d ” Akr on . “ ill er sai of th e ea sni er: This n u s 9 . At th e press con ference o A gu t , Lt M d d d p He w as rem o e w hil e th e h w en on h e di s m al e h as never sh ow n up . v d fig t t [ ] ” I e w as th e a o e n am e of ero an s e appeare . Amir er K a ir h ow e r , p L y d b t , v d t d M fi ld

' A re orter saw th e o of th e i i am s w h o w as on th e o cial casu al y lis . p y W ll , ffi t t b d m e e a er first fell ed sniper being b orne by a grou p of Negroes tow ard a car so im ft ’ t : ees wi h th e corner s re or h a th e o of ero i ll i am s 9 15 p .m . ; thi s agr t p t t t b dy L y W 5 8 Sh oo t-Ou t in Cleveland

c n In arrived by ar at Huro Road H ospital ab ou t pm . its re ference to th e ’ “ c n as e o s or in al o a o an al e at a iew oa and E . 123rd S r ee th e b dy ig l ti l y L k v R d t t , ’ cor oner s re or is n ot h e u sin ce th e tw o m en i one s r ee s s p t lpf l , t d t t run p aral lel ou th

Th e aban d oned p oli ce car s w ere vu lnerable tmone of th e tacti c s of urb an guerrilla

a m . h en e e m th e w arfar e . At (t W dn sday orning) follow ing al er t w as br oad “ — cast over th e p olice radio : All Car s Ch eck all aban doned police car s for bomb s ” prior to m ovin g th em . P an es new e u o i on s a r u e t Mr s . errym deni sp ap r q tat tt ib t d o h er th at w ou ld in di cate

sni er s ar e in o h er a ar m en w h i e sh e w as h ere . ccor i n to h er h u s an p b g d t p t t l t A d g b d , th e th h w a t M . Pe m M w h o as aw a im e e rs ac i i of w h c rs rr an an d r s . y t , fi t t v ty i y a w ere aw ar e w as th e Sh oo in olice w h ou w ar nin of e ar as sh e s Fl gg t g by p , it t g , t g ll n a d bullets into th e h ou se . Th e Call Post on u 27 a e h s ers on of th e se uence of e en s: , J ly , g v t i v i q v t “ Poli ce or dere d th e Perr ym an h om e evacu ated to protect th e oc cupan ts an d to et an a e n m w c c o u s Th e sni e g v t g poi ts fro hi h th ey uld fl sh ou t th e ni pers . p rs ’ l a er en ere e a an oned Perr m h om e u se e c t t d th b d y an and d it as a sni p r s [ si ] post . om e eo e inc u in se era c o e re a i es of h a m an did n ot acce th e S p pl , l d g v l l s l t v C p , pt ’ ’ c e r en of h a m an s c aim h e h er oi v rsion of Ch apm an s death . A f i d C p l ed saw him

aliv e as l ate as 10pm . Th e an gle of fire and type of w eapon do n ot rule ou t th e

possibili ty th at Ch apm an w as kill ed by p oli cem en . Poli ce w ere repor ted to b e u s

in au om a ic w ea ons. In a l a e s a e of th e a l e som e o cem en w ere h i h g t t p t t g b tt , p li g ’

off th e s r ee occu in th e sec on floor of th e a e i ew Ta ern . Th e c or oner s t t , py g d L k v v desc ription of th e w oun d w as in terpreted as an in dic ation th at Ch apm an w as sh ot rom a i s an ce and th u s r o a a sni er b u t an or z a n o e ath ol o f d t ( p b bly by p ) Al M it , t d p is w h o exam ine ictures of th e w ou n c oncl u e h a s an ce c ou not b e g t d p d , d d t t di t ld e erm n e th e sh a e of th e N e e w oun . re orter for th e e ro w e th d t i d by p d A p g kly , Cleveland Call P os t a em e to n es i a e th e h a m an c ase th e da e ore , tt pt d i v t g t C p y b f th e h er o s o c t ry w as released and found p oli ce w ould divulge n o detail s . Th e or o ’ ner s re or a e u 24 car r e a n o a on h a Ch a m an w as i e w h l e as p t , d t d J ly , i d t ti t t p k ll d i si s in ol ce b u t th e re or w as not rel ease to th e u ic for nearl a w ee dur t g p i , p t d p bl y k , cc Th e all Post re or er h as ing w hi ch tim e a r ep or ter w as deni ed a ess to it . C p t “ concl u ded : Wh eth er Ch apm an w as kill ed by th e police or th e sniper s w ill prob ” a m s e o e I w as to b e n o l e m s e h ow e er Sin ce a rem ain r re r . r bly y t y f v t id y t y , v , w f h es n t e Fred (Ah m ed) Evan s as in di cted for th e m ur der o C apm an . T tim o y a th ’ trial c ast fur th er doubt on th e h er oic version of Ch apm an s death w h en th e emi nen t p ath ologis t Cyril Wech t said th e fatal bull et w as fir ed fr om n o m ore th an Six

n ch es. No sni er of c our se c oul h a e o en h a c ose to h a m an in th e i p , , d v g tt t t l C p com an f o ice p y o p l . ’ Th e circum stance s of Pegues s inj u ry w ere never spelled out by th e poli c e or oth er l P s c al a nc s An e ewi ness a e his coun in th e Cl ev eland Cal o t. offi i ge ie . y t g v ac t ’ Ar h ur e an a 34- ear -ol d ric la er s h e er w as in th e a e i ew Ta ern w h en t R d , y b k y lp , L k v v h er police ran in and told th e 10cu stom ers an d em ployees to li e on th e fl oor . Ot oli ce cam e in and sh o e th e 3 w om en an d 7 m en ow n in o th e a em en fir p v d d t b s t ,

in at th e ceilin in th e r ocess h en sh o ear as n o th e asem en . oh n Pe u es g g p , t t t g i t b t J g , e 10w ere sai e an w as w ou n e a ol cem an urin his e iso e . h en th d R d , d d by p i d g t p d W - : m . cco in to e an nall re ease rom th e as fill ed asem en at 10 15 . a r fi y l d f g b t p , d g R d , th e w om en w ere u sh e a ou an d in ecen l h n l e ol ce th e m en w er e p d b t d t y a d d by p i , ra e and is o w h e an d all 10w ere h row n in o a ol ce w a on a en to d gg d p t l ipp d , t t p i g , t k “ i h is ri c h ea u ar ers and oc e in a S n e cell wi h oh n Pe u es s re ch e F ft D t t dq t , l k d i gl t J g t t d ” e an sai Pe es w as re u se m e c al re a m en un il ou t bleedin g on a be n ch . R d d gu f d di t t t t

a m . e 5 W dnesday . In an in er ew for hi s s u c Peer a Call Pos t re orter sai h e w it t vi t t dy , Di k y , p , d nessed h s i o ence e or e olice or ere him aw a r om th e a ern i sr e ar in t i v l b f p d d y f t v , d g d g his ress n He saw th e m en rom th e a ern e n ro e wi h rifl e p crede tial s. f t v b i g p dd d t utts one of th e h ree w om en ou le u in ex rem e ain th e o h er tw o emer b , t d b d p [ t p , t g in rom th e i Pee al so in er iew e a m an w h o sai h e g f tavern in ] r pped cloth es . ry t v d d w as ri in h r ou h th e area wh en oli ce r a e hi m rom his car ea him se d v g t g p d gg d f , b t

v erel an d c all e him a ni er an d a c o ill er . y, d gg p k ’ A Midsummer s Nigh tm are

e ec i es wh o a er in es i a e th e a i c of 1384 a e i ew w h e D t t v l t v t g t d tt L k v , re Ahm ed h ad

een oun ci are u s and u e s b u t n o s en sh e s. cco in b , f d g t b tt b ll t p t ll A rd g to J oseph Tur in a w or h ou se uar w h o i e s at 1384 h m e ro e in th e h ou se p , k g d l v , A d b k abou t

- th e im e th e tow ruc sh oo in oo ace . Tur in w h o h ad een w a c t t k t g t k pl ( p , b t hing th e

- tow ruc inci en insis s h a Ah m e did n o sh oo in . hm e w en t t k d t , t t t d t g ) A d t o th e attic and at eas hree im es urin th e e enin e e to Tur in h a h e w an e to , l t t t d g v g , y ll d p t t t d ’ n u in sa s h e c e th stop th e battl e by surrenderi g . T rp y al l d e poli ce in Ahm ed s b e

h alf at l east fiv e tim e s. Th ese statements attribu ted to Ahm ed and publish ed in Clevel an d n ew sp apers are o h a o ice o re or er s hm e sai at th e th e sub stance f w t p l t ld p t A d d tim e . At th e begin ’

nin of his mu r er rial in M ar . 1969 hm e s l aw er s w ere eni e a m o i n g d t , A d y d d t o to se h ave th ese statem ents su ppres d . There i s e i ence h a som e in i i u al s wh o recei e in uries m os l min or w er v d t t d v d v d j , t y , e is a e h a not inclu ded on th e official casual ty list . It prob bl t t sniper s escaped fr om

th e scene and som e of h ese m a h a e een in ure . In ure or ea sni e s m , t y v b j d j d d d p r ay c s n Tw o olicemen sai h ave been b orne to h iding pla e by frie ds. p d th ey saw a sniper fall fr om th e roof of an Auburn dal e h ou se ; th en fou r people dragged him to a

e aw a an el T . Osh um l e el an c anel c and ro . ir e or of th e ou h p tr u k d v y R d , C v d d t S t ern Chr is ian ea er shi on erence sa s h e saw a nu m er of m en runnin near t L d p C f , y b g “ Lakeview and Beul ah and h eadi ng tow ar d Superior One guy w as ru nning into

an alle and h e h ad een Sh o an d h e w as h o in hi s sh oul er all oo . Tw o y b t ld g d , bl dy o h er ell ow s w ere c arr in a s con u h a w e ne er h ear an hin e se a ou t f y g e d g y t t v d yt g l b t , a so l gu ess th ey m ade a clean getaw y .

62 Sh oot-O u t in Clevelan d

al out on mile north of Superior . Sporadic ly it broke the other Side of Rocke

' P 5 5 th n of feller ark , as far west as East Street and i cluding the troubled area

Hough . P a to l o atrol c rs were dispatched disperse looters , to answer cal s of Sh ot f n to o . i gs , pick up youths carrying gasoline cans weapons Often they had to “ ” “ ” on report back gone arrival or unable to locate . A heavy rainstorm w as Shortly after midnight offered hope of ending the violence , but the storm th short lived . The looting and fire setting continued rough the night . Fire engines were brought in from all parts of the city and deployed in groups for i on protection against the h ndering mobs . Firemen sometimes arrived the d O . scene to find hydrants had been pene , making it difficult to hook up hoses They faced gangs of youths thr owin g bottles and rocks at them ; some re t . a ported sniper fire Even ually , some fire crews refused to answer c lls with out a police escort . The next day Fire Chief William E . Barry reported that the fire department had responded to between 5 0and 60legitimate fires in the troubled area during the night , most of the fires occurring along Superior P 20 “ ” a of l r . Avenue e st Rockefel er a k About were maj or fires , involving two l or more buildings . Apart from those picked up as suspicious persons and those implicated 28 i in the Glenville shooting , Negroes were arrested during the n ght of July

- n -one 23 24 in connection with the racial dis turba ces . Twenty were charged of with looting , one with malicious destruction property , two with burglary , one and one with armed robbery . Three people related to another were ar 124 rested near East th an dAuburndale for carrying concealed weapons . All f 28 2 l of but five o the arrested were at least 0years o d. Five those arrested were women .

D uring the night , East Side hospitals , already overburdened with the vic of v al of tims the Glen ille gun battle , began to receive the casu ties the spread ing violence . Some were brought in mortally wounded .

m d i l 9- —old hi s About i n ght , year Eddie Roddick and three of friends were i for 7 n to a 9th . w ting a bus at East and St . Clair Two cars drove up , accordi g “ tw i n o hi . ou t Roddick , each conta ing w te men They had pistols poking of the windows and they yelled racial insults at us . When one of the men fired

hi s 22- -old a Shot , Roddick and friends began running . Clifford Miller , a year 2 Marine absent without leave from Camp Lej eune , ran blocks along St . Clair

. ou t and then decided to stop The white men got of their cars , says Roddick ; one of on hi s them struck Miller the head with rifle , then another Shot Miller ’ twice in the head with a pistol . (The coroner s examination revealed no

s . brui es , and only one gunshot wound )

The whi te men went back to their cars and started to drive off and we an d one of went to Clifford . We asked him if he was all right us lifted hi s out of one of head . Then the white men got their cars again and us “ ’ ’ ’ ”

him . said Le t s get out of here . He s dead . We can t help

the i his i Then , said Roddick , wh te men began to fire at him and compan ons , n pursui g them until they escape into a nearby park . A patrol car , responding of th e l to a report Shooting , conveyed Mil er to Mt . Sinai Hospital , where he on al was pronounced dead arriv . on : Th e row s th e Police and i Reac ti C d , , C ty Hall

Three days later the police picked up a whi te m an and his tw o teenage sons m as suspects in the shooting , but released the for want of evidence . The m ur of f ll h as der Cli ford Mi er never been solved .

-30- -old Jarnes C . Haynes was a year stock clerk who earned extra money as a custodian and guard in the apartment building in whi ch he lived at 1270 83 w as d . East Street The building close to Superior Avenue , and Haynes was eof i 105 th r awar the looted and burn ng buildings at and Superior , th ee quarters of a mile to the east . Apprehensive about trouble in hi s ow n neigh

b orh ood . , Haynes armed himself with a pistol Around midnight , accordin g to his of father , a gang youths attempted to enter the building; Haynes exchanged

fir e with them and the youths fled . (Others says Haynes merely fired into the h air and . the yout s scattered ) Haynes returned to his apartment , picked up a l r Shotgun , then wa ked downstai s and out of the building .

What happened next has never been clarified . One thing is clear : Shots of rang ou t . The body James Haynes was later found in an alley behind 8203 li Superior Avenue , riddled with Shotgun wounds , another Negro fata ty in ’ Tuesday s long night of violence . ’ a Around the corner from Haynes ap rtment , a number of young black mili h m tants were gathered at the Afro Set , the craft s op and eeting place run by ll Har el . D Jones Early in the evening , Jones had given assurance to Law irector Clarence Jarnes and Councilman George Forbes that his followers would n ot l n participate in the violence . He himself was trave i g through the troubled area with James and Forbes , helping them in their effort to restore peace and calm Harll el of their fellow black citizens . Lyonel Jones (no relation to ) , director e to the L gal Aid Society of Cleveland , was at the Afro Set help keep the Situa i al . AS tion c m there a further precaution aga nst trouble , James had stationed a Negr o policeman at the building . P or olice may have heard the pistol Shots fired by Haynes , they may have

- m . c ar . responded to a message , broadcast on patrol radios about p , that twopolicemen were trapped in a building on East 82d and Superior and that afire Negro males were setting it . (The source and substance of that report

t . are fur her unsolved elements in the episode ) In either case , very quickly there were several patrol cars at the scene . to olicem ent According Lyonel Jones , eight p barged into the Afro Set , hi oi to . Shot at the ceiling , and ordered the occupants leave A w te captain dered the Negro policeman whom James had stationed there to return to “ ” of Fifth District headquarters . Get your black ass out here , he was over ’ heard saying in response to the policeman s protests .

-c ar Then , say eyewitnesses , a patrol crew drove into a gas station , turned an d d of off the headlights , began to fire in the irection the apartment build all be ing where James Haynes lived . Another car , they say , drove into the ey P hi nd Superior where Haynes was later found dead . olice believed they were

- tw o being fired at ; a patrol car broadcast about pm . indicated police “ ” men were pinned down by snipers hi ding in bushes in front of a funeral home near East 82d and Superior . m Harll el Law Director James , Council an Forbes , and Jones arrived in a police car at 82d and Superior after the shooting had subsided . (James ’ had been informed of the trouble there by the mayor s office in a phone n 35 1 w as conversation .) A other police vehicle , Car , parked in front of the As out of of i n Afro Set . Jarnes got the car , a group young mil ta ts approached “ ’ ’ him in a state of excitement : That s th e car that did the Shooting ; that s the tl e n 35 1 car that did the shooting [in the Afro Set] y said , i dicating C ar . a 3 5 1 § As J mes approached Car to speak to it Occupants , it pulled away from the curb and proceeded down Superior Avenue . James grabbed the his an d d l : 35 1 microphone from police car ra ioed the fol owing message Car , h is D r e n ou t is the Law i ector ; return to the sc ne o Superior that y j ust left . 35 1 m a ai r Car kept going , slowed down omentarily , then sped up g n as Ja nes

hi s . n repeated message Then it turned i to a Side street . James and Forbe s got into the police car and ordered the driver to pursue 35 1 n 5 o . 3 1 Car with the siren They turned where Car turned , but the patrol “ car was not in Sight . James called the radi o dispatcher : This is the Law Di in 8C ou Car rector . Will y locate He heard the dispatcher broadcast “ ” : 35 1 : " w as the message Car your location There no answer . Then James 35 1 of saw a u . u thought he head them , running witho t lights on He purs ed S 3 5 s ll . A 1 the car , iren sti screaming he drew near , Car slowed to a stop in “ “

f . i o l . r s front him The head ights came on Car Ja nes radioed , this the P Law Director right behi nd you . lease get ou t of your car and come back to ” me . 35 1 one of When the three policemen in Car approached , James asked if 82d them , a sergeant , he had heard him at and Superior telling him to stop “ ’ ”

- e . ou . L fi and return to the sc ne The sergeant replied , No ; we didn t hear y “ ’ his : You Raising helmet , he added know , we can t hear to well with these ” “ ’ on : ot tu did not things . Another said We ve g the radio rned down and hear ”

ou . y call Why , James wanted to know , would they have the radio turned " down when there w as all this trouble in the city James found their answers

Then Jam es asked the sergean t to accompany him back to 82d and Supe 35 1 rior while the other officers followed in Car . (Only when they arrived back at the Afro Set did James real ize that one of the other officers was a cap a ofCar As ser t in , and thus in charge they rode back , James told the geant about the complain ts of residents that Car 35 1 had done unnecessary th s 35 1 on . e shooting The sergeant denied claims , aying Car had just arrived the scene . h f h as W en they reached the A ro Set , James learned that a dead body been hi a mi bOd of found in the alley be nd L keview . He and others exa ned the y — “ ” “ a es a How " H ynes , then sam sked the police captain , did this happen I ’ “ ” don t know . a , said the captain ; we had just come up J rnes asked what had happened to the Negro policeman he had stationed at the Afro Set . The ai m D s capt n ad itted that he had sent the officer to Fifth istrict headquarter , but deni ed that the man ever mentioned that he had been under orders from

Law Director James . Residents of the area were giving James their versions of what had hap the as pened . They told him about the patrol car parked at g station firing at l on 8 d n l the apartment bui ding 3 Street . One co firmed that Spent shel s were i on r th e ly ng the g ound at gas station . A police photographer had arrived , a and James sent him to take pictures of the shells . Then J mes and others ex “ amined e f t h as th exterior o the apar ment building . That building been rid ” “ ” i t h e l di d " u t . d ed with b lle s , he told po icemen How this happen The eac ion : Th e row s th e Po ice an R t C d , l , d City Hall captain and the sergeant again replied that they had no knowledge of the mat t P ter since hey had just arrived . eople in the crowd said they had seen a pa s i i trol car hoot ng at the build ng . Concerned that the Shooting might have produced casualties , James , the policemen and others entered the building to

-floor - exam ine it . In a second apartment they found that hi gh powered bul t lets had gone hrough windows and torn through the walls , leaving gaping h holes where t ey lodged . There were holes above the beds of two small chil i dren who had been sleeping when the Shoot ng started . City officials later promised an investigation of the Shooti ngs near East 82d of l and Superior , probing for instances po ice misconduct . If the investi ation not i g took place , the conclusions have been made publ c .

hr 23 -24 1968 to T ough the long night of July , , Mayor Stokes and p offi cial s at City Hall struggled with the decisions to be made about how to cope with the violence in Cleveland . They were hampered by inadequate and con fusing information about the violence as it happened , and by the lack of con tin en for e g cy planning such emerg ncies . When he learned of the outbreak of shooting from Safety Director Joseph

m . McManam on . to M M n about p , Stokes decided meet with c a amon and D an others at Sixth istrict police headquarters , then changed his mind d moved

l . a m . a 9 . offi the meeting to City H l When Stokes arrived at City H ll about p , cial s were moni toring the police radio an d McManam on had a direct hookup fo of r ill . of talking to police at the scene the Glenv e , gun battle The number r - of patrol cars that had ushed to the Lakeview Auburndale area , the tension the Situation there , the lack of coordination and measured response , made it difficult to assess what was happening . It was similarly difficult to get a clear f picture o events as the violence spread . An aide described the situation at “ ” City Hall as totally confusing .

bum It sounded al ot worse than it w as . It sounded like the city was

ing down and that people were being Shot over the whole city . In t of fact , here were a couple isolated shootings that were not related at

all . They are the normal shootings that you would have .

He and oth ers report that frequentl y during the ni ght the poli ce radi o carried rumors and false reports that exaggerated the extent of the violence . P r to f D n a tly recti y this , Mayor Stokes sent Law irector Clarence James i to the troubled area to act as hi s personal observer and reporter . Perhaps buoyed by its success after the assassination of Martin Luth er r to King , the Stokes administration found itself inadequately prepa ed handle f w as n the violence o July 23 . Control of the situation , in the beginni g stages , to on as w as d left police the scene , and , Stokes later to a mit , Cleveland police were inadequately trained and supplied to cope with urban guerrilla war 2 Del al of fare . According to Maj . Gen . Sylvester Corso , Adjutant Gener the i r to th e d i to c Oh o National Gua d , he had tried get Stokes a m nistration dis uss measures for handling racial disturbances but had been rebuffed . itu By p . m Stokes had decided that the S ation might get beyond the

al Gov . a . control Of local forces before the night was over . He c led J mes A

h w as al , Rhodes , w o attending the Nation Governors Conference in Cincinnati to inform him of the Situation . The Governor immediately called General Sh oo t-Ou t in Clevelan d

l w h o in hi m De . Corso , was Akron , and told to report to Stokes Within a few hi s m minutes , Rhodes left for home in Colu bus to monitor the disturbances al Del on hi s i from there , Gener Corso was way to Cleveland , and the Oh o Na on ti onal Guard had been placed al ert .

In addition to determining the level of force needed to control the violence , of Mayor Stokes knew that he would have to inform the public the Situation , to avoid misunderstandin g and pani c and to keep people out of the troubled lk n area . After ta i g to the Governor , the mayor went down the street from al to YC a an City H l the television studies of WK . There he taped a Speci l nouncem ent to be used by WKYC and distributed in copy to other Cleveland television and radio stations . Many Clevelanders,watchin g a televised baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and the Baltimore Orioles , got the first news of the violence when Mayor Stokes interrupted the broadcast shortly 1 1 m . : before p . We ’ve had a bad situation here tonight but as of this time we have the do situation controlled . But we need badly the help of every citizen at hi m r - r t s ti e , particula ly in the Lakeview Superior Avenue a ea . Stay at C on home and ooperate with the police . Go home if you are the streets ; m so if you are at ho e , stay inside and keep your doors locked that we

can contain the situation .

i Later th s message was broadcast over the civil defense network . el 1 1 m an d a l General D Corso arrived at City Hall about p . beg n de ibera tions with Stokes on the use of National Guard troops . Shortly after midnight to Del the mayor signed a proclamation , addressed General Corso , formally “ requesting National Guard assistance . Law enforcement agencies under my jurisdiction can no longer adequately cope with the riotous situation that ex ” ists in a . the City of Cleveland , the proclamation beg n al Del m h Gener Corso com unicated with other National Guard officials , t en

to on . al emerged at a m . report the Situation to the press A tot of 15 400 al n , Ohio Nation Guardsmen had been mobilized , he announced , i clud l o7th i ing from the Cleveland area . The Armored Cavalry Reg ment in

Cleveland had Guardsmen to assist police . Seven hundred Guardsmen i P 60m w undergoing summer train ng at Camp erry , iles from Cleveland , ould l el . a D be brought into the city By daylight , Gener Corso estimated , there

a to . would be Nation l Guard troops in Cleveland , ready be deployed no h ow Still , there had been decision about how , when , and many Guards to men should be deployed ln the troubled area . It would take some time get M a br troops combat ready . In the meantime , y Stokes was trying to keep t on abreast of the Si uation in the troubled area , talking frequently the tele phone with Clarence James and with black communi ty spokesm en like Bax ter lm ll Harllel al a n . Hi and Jones , who were so working to c thi gs down A young ’ w as e black nationalist in the mayor s office , occasionally leaving the offic to “

t a his to to . make elephone c lls of own friends , urging them cool it About 2 a. m . of hi s , a number black leaders met with Stokes in office to help him asse ss the situation .

3 . m f a . al el him m o By , when Gener D Corso notified that he had a nu ber i troops ready for deployment , Mayor Stokes had decided that the t me had " 24 a . w o r come to use the Nation l Guard T hund ed Guardsmen , together with to to Jeeps and other military vehicles , were sent the troubled area patrol the eac ion : Th e row s th e Po i ce R t C d , l , and City Hall

of streets . To each the Jeeps were assign ed three Guardsm en and one Cleve

l . am . on m land po iceman About the police , orders fro the mayor , were i instructed to report any sn per activity to the National Guard . Looters and “ a - to arsonists , s id the police radio announcement , are be arrested by police or ” al . o Nation Guard without the use of deadly force Half an hour later , the p lice heard another announcement on their patrol-car radi os : All vacations

12- and holidays are canceled ; all personnel will work hour shifts .

As dawn arrived amid a drizzle , smoke still rose from gutted buildings al ong P continu e t Superior Avenue . olice d o receive reports of looting and of Spo r of radic gunfire in a eas the East Side . But the worst of the violence had for i abated . Cleveland , the time be ng , was under control .

From the history of racial disturbances in Cleveland and other Am erican 24 1968 cities , Clevelanders , on the morning of July , , had every reason to ex ect t p hat more trouble lay ahead . If past patterns were repeated , more vio lence would flare at nightfall . The authorities had to devise a strategy to cope with it . More than 100leaders of the black community gathered at City Hall about

a . m to meet with Mayor Stokes . The attendance at thi s meeting was ’ entirely black ; not even the white members of the mayor s staff were per tt a mi ed . to t ke part Many at the meeting had been up all night , assisting in a or l City H ll wa king the streets , attempting to quell the violence . O hi s of Stokes pened the meeting with assessment the situation , then for called discussion on how best to handle it . A number of options were i th e : ava lable to mayor He could impose a curfew , strengthen police and Na ti onal r ni of Gua d u ts in the troubled area , or use various combinations force al such as placing Nation Guard in the ar ea and not police . Many at the meet a to ing were concerned that if police were llowed remain in the area , there would be further Shooting . They feared that black nationalists would be made fid et of h g y by the continued presence the police and would begin S ooting , or ain that if police were allowed to rem in the area , they would seek revenge for o their thr ee comrades who were killed the ni ght before . Several Spoke in Opp siti on to f h to one a cur ew , noting t at if it were applied just area it would be re sented by the citizens of that area and would not prevent outsiders from coming into the area and beginning violence again . al The meeting at City Hall produced no re consensus , and Mayor Stokes 10 m . l no n ofhi s . revea ed pla s ow n . When the meeting broke up about a , he r t hi s 20of reti ed o his office to discuss strategies with staff, while about the of il participants in the meeting , most them m itants , adjourned to the Audi torium Hotel to continue discussions . An hour later Stokes addressed a press conference originally schedul ed for ’ “ a n to wh o m . He attributed Tuesday ight s violence a gang will meet ” the full measure of the law and described the present Situation on the East “ ” as Side quiet .

Security measures are being maintained with a minimum number of National Guardsmen on our streets an d a Siz eable force in ready reserve r should they be needed . I have met with Neg o leadership at City Hall and they have j oined me in an all -out effort to make sure that Cleve ’ o land s night of terror will not turn into a riot . We are c nstantly re-eval uating the Situation and assure that this city will not be governed

by hoodl ums .

The mayor indicated that he had not yet decided upon a strategy for Wednes o day evening . Early in the afternoon the group of militants returned from the Au dito Now tium Hotel to City Hall . they presented a definite proposal to the mayor : They woul d go back into the communi ty and try to bring it under control s n l of them elves , preventi g looting , burning , and additiona loss life . They of to not wanted a period time attempt this ; if it did work , Stokes could i d . n o t choose a ifferent strategy Stokes listened . He st ll made commi ment . w as not th e al e u to This first time such a propos had b en s ggested Stokes . e tr wh o on B r am Gardner , had Spent the night the streets , proposed such a to r course the Mayor in a conversation about am . Ga dner wanted Stokes to c of th e hi 200 r take the poli e and Guard out area , w le Gardner sent about o 25 tr nl 0blacks into the community to y to cal m feelings . He wanted o y about

6 r : f 1 1 am . to 5 m . am . hou s rom about about p At the meeting , others had proposed a Simil ar course . midaftem oon s About , Stokes discu sed the idea with others in a small meet f his . i o D ing in office Richard Greene , d rector the Community evelopment

D ar sal . i ep tment , endorsed the propo He felt that the black commun ty ought “ ” to be given a chance to pull itself together . Councilman George Forbes ex t o fi . N t n pressed con dence that the s rategy would work all were convi ced . “ ; General Del Corso expressed serious reservations about the wisdom of the proposal . not h When the mayor made his decision , he did make it ras ly . He had had the benefit of numerous Opinions an d arguments for and against competin g as diffi strategies . Some options , like the curfew , had been seen fraught with es li th e cul ti . Stokes had heard compel ng arguments about volatile situation that would be created by the continuing presence of whi te law enforcement “ ” r officers in the black comm unity . The all black strategy appea ed to be the

l to . n only rationa policy reduce bloodshed In accepti g it , Stokes knew he

w as ak a . r . ao t ing a c lculated risk There would be safegua ds , however He cepted the suggestion by Richar d Greene that Negr o policemen function i n the ar ea as well as the black leaders . He would also station police and the Na ti onal ar r u of so Gu d a o nd the perimeter the area , that they could respond quickly if trouble did arise . w as not his al to u Though the decision one , Stokes had ass me full responsi f as one hi bili t or . w y it It a novel strategy , that a w te mayor would have had ’ in w as t r greater difficulty in instrument g . It Stokes rappor with the Neg o community that brought forth the proposal in the first place and that n ow a g ve hope that it would work .

5 for . 4 : 1 .m . At p , Mayor Stokes released a detailed plan Wednesday night f m . 6 s f to o f 7 a. About quare miles o the city were be cordoned until , Thurs a day morning . The southern boundary would be Euclid Avenue , eastw rd from s 5 5 th e Ea t th Street . The nor ern boundary would be Sup rior Avenue , from ’

s 55 th to P r u to . Ea t Rockefeller ark , then along the pa k s eastern edge , p St l of i lair a a . a C , e stward long St Clair (with a sm l section north it) to the city l ne n st w as to t of adjoini g Ea Cleveland . This perimeter be patrolled by uni s three

l ds one i 7 m . n Nationa Guar men and police officer , beg nning at p The Natio al

Ch ap ter 4 LAW AND ORDER

24 in n We dnesday , July , passed heat and muggi ess , the mugginess fed by rainsh ow ers t r light that Swept over the ci y at noontime . Th ough the day the police responded to Sporadic calls of looting and of looters hawking stolen n goods o street corners . They closed bars that were violatin g the liquor ban and investigated rumors of looting and violence planned for Wednesday even ing . Here and there merchants boarded up the windows of their stores or a carted away v luable merchandise . (Later there were claims that some mer to fi u r chants took what they could , then encouraged looters take the rest , g h a ing t ey would get adequate recompense from their insurance comp nies . )

m . of AS 7 . nd p approached , the roving patrols police a Guardsmen retreated f to the perimeter o the cordoned area . There was a thunderstorm early i n the sk evening , but at dusk the y was clearing and the heat and mugginess lingered . The Negro leaders carried the message from City Hal l back to their com ’ m unities to , meeting with small groups explain the evening s strategy and to P . . on . organize for effective peacekeeping At the office of ride , Inc , St Clair , o Wilbur Grattan , a black nationalist ass ciated with the New Republic of of 30 of Africa , addressed a group about , most of whom were members the of Circle of African Unity . Grattan had spent much the previous night in ’ peacekeepin g and most of the day in the meetin gs that led to Mayor Stokes decision to exercise black control in the black community . He described s n what had been discussed during tho e meeti gs , praised the bold policy that

to of . had been adopted , then turned matters organization for the evening After being told by Grattan that they would receive orange arm bands labeled “ ’ ” out The Mayor s Committee , the group worked the problems of geographic

f P . s . H o a signments for each of them Baxter ill , director ride , Inc , closed the meeting in his office with a reminder of the significance of the resp on sibili ties they were about to undertake . il n i P i h ead u ar H l stayed o for awh le at the ride office , wh ch was to be the q ters for th e peacekeeping operation through the ni ght . (A Negro radio station P broadcast the telephone number of ride. frequently during the evening , urg

or . ing listeners to report crowds , looting , other indications of trouble ) The “ ” expected 500peace patrols were to be divided into four companies , headed Harll el m D l by Jones , Willia (Sonny) enton of the United Youth Counci , and ’ two from Baxter Hill s organization : Benj amin Lloyd and Ronal d Turner . a While the Negro leaders were hastily org nizing their peacekeeping force , the Cleveland Police Depar tment w as preparing for its role in the troubled r a area . White policemen were assigned to work with National Gua dsmen p D trolling the perirn eter of the cordoned area . At Fifth istrict headquarters , 7 2 Sh oo t-Ou t in Cleveland

u r l li ru sit ated within the a ea , po ice climbed aboard mi tary t cks and joked

th e . about being back in Army American Legionnaires served them coffee . About 100Negr o policemen (ou t of a total of 165 Negro officers in the - Qh e 21 man police force) were assigned to patrol cordoned area , using ’

r . r on to patrol ca s Neg oes the county sheriff s staff were assigned help them . hi i u l if offi W te pol ce , it was understood , wo ld enter the area on y the Negro cers needed additional assistance .

The sky had not yet darkened when firetru cks were called to East 105 th and Superior to extinguish fires that were rekindles (accidental or intentional)

- f ou t . o to . r burned stores A crowd gathered watch Nearby , some Neg o busi nessm en r were removing merchandise from thei stores and , when the owner hi l an d of a record store left , some who had stood watc ng wa ked in helped themselves to odds and ends he had left behi nd . The crowd at the intersection had swelled to several hundred when mem ’ o bers of the Mayor s Committee arrived to disperse them . A few f the peace al of patrols t ked to the crowd in front the record store . Most stood in the irn l orin . middle of the intersection , p g the crowd to go home A rumor was n afloat that a child was trapped in the basement of a burni g pawnshop . Fire men said they had searched the basement and no child was there . Noting that ’ m such a thing could happen , the Mayor s Co mittee pleaded with parents to r take thei children home . on of h o f Children stayed . Some them found clot ing in the back a store i that had been nearly gutted the n ght before , and soon a crowd was surging ’ li n . c toward the rear of the store After considerable caj g, the Mayor s Com i al mittee managed to discourage the looting . But the techn que of t king to f the crowd from the middle o the intersection was not dispersing the people . al Ron Harll el if W ter Beach , Lucas , Baxter Hill , and Jones decided that they to al to were going to be effective , they had walk among the crowd and t k the i tw o or hr . people , t ee at a time Though it took more than an hour to d sperse

r . the crowd , the technique wo ked hr of u an d T ough the night , teams peace patrols drove p down the commer cial streets of the area , stopping wherever four or more people were standing m ’ di m to . a around , plea ng with the disperse Occasion lly embers of the Mayor s Committee stood in front of stores where windows had been broken or iron

al . hi i gates torn down , directly confronting the potenti looters T s techn que ’ not l e o m an could be who ly effective , for th Mayor s C mmittee lacked the P al power for permanent guards at every commercial establishment . otenti of looters , some them professionals , lurked in the shadows , sometimes for

for to . D hours , waiting the peace patrols leave the scene ays later they would be seen hawking stolen goods on street corners . Occasionally a looter broke m into a store , setting off the burglar alarm , then hid nearby until so eone came ff off a al . o to investigate , turned the larm , and w ked away Most looters made

l . with what they could carry , but some fi led automobiles with merchandise ’ O o The Mayor s Committee bserved adults , including women , among the p tential and actual looters , but teenagers gave them the most trouble . Roving n a to n ba ds of teenagers usu lly were the first break i to a store , then proved “ ’ unresponsive to the appeal s of the peace patrols . We couldn t control the ”

l s . kids , Wa ter Burks , executive as istant to the Mayor , recalls We would tell Law and Disorder them to stop and they would walk away and you would get into your car to drive someplace else and you would drive back and they were right back with their hands in [the windows of a looted store] Some of the troublesome not 10 ol youths , says Burks , were more than years d. The next day Mayor “ Stokes ascribed most of the trouble Wednesday night to roving bands of ” young people generally between the ages of fourteen and seventeen . ’ An observer wh o accompanied members of the Mayor s Committee on their patrols recalls that some were particularly effective in their work . Harl

an d - lel Jones , a young militant , wiry ordinarily soft spoken , dispersed a crowd at 123d and St . Clair that had gathered in front of a furniture store that had “ 05 ” “ . 1 th H been broken into At and Massey , the observer adds , arll el dis persed perhaps the potentially most dangerous crowd of about two hundred -fi e . t v people It took him about twenty to twen y minutes . Like the other Harll el militants who were particularly effective Wednesday night , Jones suc “ ceeded to m by making eloquent pleas the pride of the black co munity . If there was one man wh o stands ou t as having done the most effective j ob pos ” “ ” ai th e Harll el 1 sible of m ntaining peace , said observer , it was Jones . Noticeable by their absence were the clergymen and other moderate and - of mi ddl e c lass Negro leaders . Though a number them had participated in the a on ef meetings at City H ll , few were the streets Wednesday night and their

fectiveness i . was lim ted Had more moderates helped out , the members of the peace patrol felt , the sporadic looting might have been prevented entirely . Whi te policemen appeared in the cordoned area over the protests of the ’ ’ n w as 101st Mayor s Committee . When a pawnbroker s wi dow broken at East l i a . and St . Cla r , white policemen responded to the c l They ignored requests

mi . of the peace patrol to leave . Si lar incidents occurred elsewhere At East

123 al in . d . i and St Cla r , an observer recalls , an arm went off a furniture store

of r i All a sudden National Gua dsmen and wh te policemen , who appa

rentl t on . y had been sta ioned in East Cleveland , appeared the scene They started backing up toward the buildings as if they were actually in d of . an a state emergency Nothing had occurred , fortunately , the Law n Director arrived o the scene .

r to i . Law Di ector James talked the wh te officers , and they left

ale

’ The reaction of some white policemen to Mayor Stokes strategy of black control was made clear to those monitoring the police radio Wednesday night . Thi s c ame in response to a report of a heart-attack case within the cor “ ’ doned area : White or nigger"Send the Mayor s Committee . When a report w as broadcast that a chi ld had fallen off a second- floor “ ’ ” : to . porch , the return call came Tell the Mayor s Committee handle it all When the police di spatcher requested cars to respond to a fire c , an anon ‘‘ ” ym ous voice suggested that Mayor Stokes go p . on it . Responses to other “ "” calls included F . . that nigger Mayor

At the Fifth District headquarters , the heavily guarded bastion within the

i n of , troubled area , police responded a fury curses and epithets directed to Manam on ward Stokes and Safety Director Mc , when told they could not carry rifles while patrolli ng the perimeter of the cordoned area . A police “ ” i s r , there , deliverin g a monolog to a bystander on what wrong with Neg oes 74 Sh oot-Out in Cleveland

“ gave this assessment of Mayor Stokes : You need a Sheepdog to lead sheep ; ’ ” 2 you don t have a sheep lead other sheep . D r T The tension at Fifth istrict headquarters lasted th ough the evenin g . w o television newsmen who entered the building W e grabbed from behind by a i s hr i hr out command ng officer , pu hed t ough the build ng , and t own into the l ot t parking where other policemen shouted at hem abusively . After appealing in an d m r to another commanding officer they were let back , ulti ately the fi st officer apologized for ejecting them .

At a press conference late the next morning , Mayor Stokes pronounced the strategy for Wednesday night a qualified success .

It is ou r consi dered opinion that we made Sign ificant headway last night in bringin g to an end the violence and lawlessness that has occurred on

our East Side . No one was killed or shot or seriously injured during the

night .

Stokes admitted that there had been trouble ; he reported that 3 fires had been “ 36 13 3 of set , stores looted , and persons arrested in the troubled area . Most ” “ w as the trouble , he said , caused by young teenagers , roving in small bands . e l li m He express d thanks to the Nationa Guard patrol ng the peri eter , the Negro l c al 300 of po i emen working within the area , and especi ly the members the ’ “ ’ ” Mayor s Committee wh o patroll ed the troubled areas until dawn to keep ” things cool . He announced that bus service and garbage pickup had resumed in the cordoned area and that city workers had begun to tear down danger

ousl am . a y d aged buildings He emph sized , however , that more trouble could be expected .

th e n a . Earlier in morni g , Stokes had met with Negro leaders at City H ll Durin g that meeting the resentment over the limited participation of moder th e w as ate Negro leaders in the peacekeeping was brought into open . It gen erally agreed that the peace patrols had been only partially effective ; the arson not : and looting had been completely curbed . Changes were needed A cur few now might help remove the gangs from th e streets ; more cars equipped with radios were needed ; more sound trucks would help ; and broken win dows ni Should be boarded before ghtfall . While the Negro leaders continued their discussion in the City Council n chamber , the mayor addressed the press co ference . There he announced a a in : w as ch nge strategy The National Guard , he said , being brought into the area to protect stores against looting . This change in strategy , like others he for to for made that Thursday , was to haunt Carl Stokes weeks come , it pro vided an indication to hi s critics that he had given in to pressure from others

- en or conceded the failure ofhis Wednesday ni ght strategy . Throughout the su be ing controversy , Stokes would maintain that the strategy had succeeded

it . cause had prevented bloodshed , and he valued life over property Changes r in the strategy , he a gued , became appropriate after tempers had cooled in the black comm unity and th e protection of property could be safely entrusted to white law enforcement officers . f w as Leo ackson whose One o the first to criticize the mayor Councilman J , . district includes part of Glenvill e and wh o is - said to represent the views of “

a s d . to older , est bli hed Negro resi ents If you want say what happened last Law and Disorder

— ni —w as t ght no shootings , no sniping a success , hen it was , Jackson told a re “

. if ou n porter But y consider the looti g , the destruction , the breaking of win al i ’ dows , the wholes e gutting of build ngs , last night s activities were a total failure . Businessmen whose stores w erevictimized Wednesday ni ght were bitterly ’ of critical the mayor s policy . The white owner of a looted cloth ing store 1 am drove to the scene about . and could not get out ofhis car because of an m o attacking b . A Negro policeman ordered him out of the area for hi s own safety . At the perimeter he pleaded with National Guardsm en and police for help , but was told there was nothing they could do . The owner of a looted furniture store got the same response from police at Fifth District h eadqu ar

. r r of ters A pa tner in a d ycleaning chain , two whose stores had been looted the previous night , had his main plant looted of clothing Wednesday night ’ i ’ ” . ou t half a million dollars worth , he est mated We re wiped , he said bit l “ ’ — ter . y We couldn t get help . That means 70people out of work 70families ” n without i comes . ’ White policemen were Openly critical of the mayor s Wednesday-night 30— r - atro . hri an strategy A yea old p angrily submitted his resignation . When Police Chi ef Michael Blackwell called the mayor’s strateg “a brilliant idea ” y , m urrnurin s h 42- of there were g t at Blackwell , a year veteran the force , was a - to hi s hi traitor department and a politician protecting mself.

“ Del Gen . Corso , who had argued for much stronger measures Wednesday h l to nig t , dec ined criticize the mayor ;

I made my suggestions but the Mayor made the decision and I am sure ’ of u - s t he did a lot so l earching all day . We re here o assist and cooperate

n - with the Mayor . He wa ted to use this means [citizen patrols] and it is n n begi ni g to be productive . It is proving successful .

l 9 . De It came as a Shock to City Hall when , on August , Gen Corso told the Ohi o Crime Commission that Stokes had “ surrendered to black revolution arres . da f s That same y, a ter the Stoke administration presented a summary of to P to . events city councilmen and the press , Council resident James V Stan n to i ton , considered by ma y be a lead ng contender for the office occupied by “ ” “ fin a sai for . d Carl Stokes , j oined in the criticism I no mor l grounds , he d , takin g duly constituted law enforcement away from the families and property of that area regardless of any justification by the Administration that there ” ’ Direc was no loss of life . Stanton s charge brought a rejoinder from Safety “ ’ ” “ t r M M sa McManamon o c anam on . Joseph He can t y that , retorted , unless ’ ” he mean s that Negro policemen aren t duly constituted officers . He added that the concentration of Negro policemen on Wednesday evenin g added up to the normal number of police in the area . th e - t In days following the Wednesday night dis urbances , support for the ’ in of mayor s strategy , sometimes the form newspaper advertisements , came i l from civil rights groups , rel gious and charitable organizations , liberal po itical al m groups , and from Cleveland educators , industri leaders , and other pro inent n t 5 9 of te citizens . A professional polli g organization found hat percent its ’ spondents supported the mayor s strategy ; 14 percent criticized it ; the rest were uncertain . Sh oot-Ou t in Cleveland

Four hundr ed National Guardsmen moved into the cordoned area on Thursday morning to help Cleveland police control the sporadic but persistent P l al n looting . o ice were so kept busy through the day e forcing the liquor ban th reatend for ni and tracking down rumors of violence Thursday ght . Teen P . i agers employed by ride , Inc , carted away debr s from damaged buildings . n hi Mea w le , Mayor Stokes pondered a strategy for Thursday night , ques ti oning whether to impose a curfew and whether to allow National Guards

~ r men and white policemen in the area after dark . Ea ly in the afternoon he of l for took a walk , touring the streets Glenvil e the first time Since the trouble 23 in to h began July , urg g residents keep their c ildren at home Thursday 4 m . night . At p he met with Baxter Hill and other Negro leaders at the office P of . on ride , Inc He sought their counsel a strategy for Thursday night . Most agreed that additional enforcement was necessary . With some reluctance , stemming more from concern for the unpredictable behavior of white police of o al men than black nati n ists , they agreed that National Guardsmen and t white policemen should be allowed o remain in the area after nightfall . Mayor Stokes announced hi s decision at a press conference about

m . on 9 m . p A curfew would be imposed the cordoned area , beginning at p

m . a. . l and extending to , Friday morning The Nationa Guard would 4 stay in the area , and no policemen would be constrained from entering the ar ea .

Though the announcement was carried on television and radio stations , it

" “ w as - T a late hour decision that caught many unprepared . Some police first learned of the curfew from a police radio broadcast 20minutes before the cur w as to to few begin . Sound trucks were sent into the are a announce the cur P il not m . few , but did reach some neighborhoods until p eople were st l 1 re walking the streets after 0pm . and some businesses were still Open . A porter saw a National Guard unit still encamped in Rockefeller Park at pm . i ’ Stokes had d sbanded the Mayor s Committee , but a number of Negro lead

ers to . worked Thursday night keep the peace , patrolling the area in nine cars a w as ac Though the peacekeeping operation on Thursd y night massive , of n cording with the wishes those who had urged stro g enforcement , it was

100 . not percent successful At a predawn press conference , John Little , the ’ ’

ni . mayor s executive secretary , gave a summary report of the ght s violence A on 5 5 r maj or fire had occurred East th Street ; there had been four minor fi es , “ ” of which tw o were described as flareups toward the eastern end of Superior : one or for Avenue . Thirty people had been arrested f attempted arson , two i m to d loot ng , the rest for curfew violations . Guards en had been sent isperse more than 100youths roaming the streets in the southeast corner of Cleve f ni o . land , far from the cordoned area . There were no reports s ping e d Friday was a time of relative cal m . There wer in ications the community ban of was returning to normal . The liquor was lifted in the suburbs Cuya w as to a f of hoga County , and Mayor Stokes expected pprove a li ting the ban - i in Cleveland the next morning . (He did .) The Friday n ght curfew was de m of to layed until midnight , per itting residents the cordoned area attend a l C eveland Indians baseball game .

For of w as . the forces law and order , Friday not completely a dull day of 35 100 That afternoon , an army about policemen and National Guards u as men , equipped with rifles , Shotg ns , and tear g , surrounded the Esquire

Sh oo t-Ou t in Cleveland

o w h o D Bor s and Ray , had been Sitting at Fifth istrict police headquarters to ot awaiting newsworthy developments , rushed the scene when they g word m m of of the disturbance a block away . With other e bers the NBC crews they ’ ot went in separate cars , and Ray s crew g there fis t .

to 40- - old w h o According Charles Ray , a year photographer had covered “ ” P m u o . m racial disturbances before , the scene was tu ltu us olice en were m i swar ing into the area , patrol cars were block ng traffic , and crowds were

on of 105 th an - standing the corners d Euclid . Ray took wide angle shots of m of to film o the scene , then oved toward the other side the street a ruckus g hi s in on . A S to m g there he raised camera his eye , says Ray , ore than a dozen “ m "” policemen rushed at him , Shouting Get that ca era A plainclothesman m m to grabbed the ca era , raised it as through to s ash it the ground , but ran across the street with it . The other police turned away as Ray dem anded his d of c . hi m camera ba k He found a lieutenant in the mid le the street , showed of lieu en . t his press credentials , and demanded the return his property The “ ’ h im ou t m e ant shoved away , saying Get of here ; don t bother . al h im About five policemen , Ray rec ls , grabbed him , pushed against a wall , pinned his arms , and began a search . One took his light meter , another exam ff ’ in ed a . m n o m his w llet A police a took Ray s glasses , folded the , and stuck ’

him . them in the pocket of Ray s coat . Then all began hitting

It looked like a football huddle Everyone was pounding on m e at in once , and fists were flying in my face . Feet were kicking me the back to n so and buttocks and I was trying avoid getti g hit in the groin , I doubled up and put my hands and my arms over my head to pro

teet my face and head as best I could .

ll m him The police pu ed Ray fro the ground , punched and kicked some more , hi ’ then dragged him to a police station wagon and threw m inside . Ray s foot re was caught in the door as it Slammed , trapped but uninjured , and police “ Yo to him i . u ir fused help d slodge the foot d ty bastard , we hope your foot ” one of wh o to D is broken , said the policemen drove him Fifth istrict head be quarters . At the police station , says Ray , he was rabbit punched by police fore being thrown into a cell .

36 - -old m m w h o Julius Boros , a year ca era an had worked many years as a 105 th photographer in his native Hungary , arrived at and Euclid after Charles to al a to Ray . He had w k h lf a block the intersection because patrol cars and 5 other automobiles were backed up on 10 th . Near the intersection an NBC soundman yelled to him that Ray had had his camera stolen and was being “ ’

. D o . beaten by police on t g up there , he warned did n ot But Boros kept going . He see Ray , but across the street he saw police roughly handlin g about 12 Negroes lined against a wall with their hands 5 m up . Ray estim ates he stepped feet into the street fro the curb ; there he “ ” began to film a general shot of the activity . Suddenly there was a police in n hi man running his direction , hatless , ha ds held gh , face contorted in rage , “ ” You son " m screaming of a bitch Boros turned , thinking so eone else was on m to meant , but the policeman pounced him , grabbed the ca era , threw it

m . the ground , and started kicking the camera an

to hi s - a dozen m Boros fell knees . Half police , Boros esti ates , rushed over and began kickin g an d punching him and j abbing him with their rifle butts .

hi m m to . They picked him up , dragged a few feet , and resu ed pummeling The Law and Disorder

t o . to next few moments were be crucial ones According Boros , he was dazed , hi s as eyes were closed , and he began to Sink once more under the pummeling , he feared he would lose consciousness . He grabbed at anything that would ’ . m hi s a e support him He had hold of a police an s shoulder with left h nd , he r ’ a m c lls , then the police an s belt as he slid toward the ground . His right hand and hi s t grabbed an object , when eyes responded to the tac ile signal , Boros ’ found he was holding the policeman s gun by the barrel . h ow That is Boros describes those few moments , and it is doubtful whether ll hi s Cleveland policemen ever wi believe account . When he real ized what had “ happened , says Boros , he said , Officer , here is your gun . AS he reached out hi s m on to of hand , the police en p him became aware of the gun and began w as Shouting . The gun grabbed away . Then the officer who had assaulted ’ “ carneram an s Yo Boros originally put his face close to the and screamed , u are under arrest"”

The beating then became ferocious . Boros was dragged behi nd a patrol car “ 105th an d as on on Street pummeled he lay prone the ground . God help " ” “P ” me , please , he cried out . lease help me . It was then , for the first time , n that he noticed Charles Ray , undergoi g beating nearby , unable to assist hi m . hr of Boros was then t own to the floor in the rear a patrol car . He recalls i to h D noth ng of the trip Fift istrict headquarters ; cold water , slammed in his him h . o face at the police station , broug t back to awareness He remembers p licem en beating him and swearing at him as he w as led from the garage into

al to - the building . In the hallway he appe ed a high ranking officer for help , fin th e him . n w as er rinted but officer ignored At the wi dow where he g p , says n l 3 or 4 Boros , the policeman who had origi al y assaulted him stood feet away , a r lit matches , and threw them at him . When nother policeman st uck him with “ ’ "” : P . D a rifle , Boros screamed out in terror lease help me on t kill me here l as w as l of Boros spoke briefly to Charles Ray , locked in a ce l , he led to a cel his ow n h and h hi s . There he found running water to slake his t irst was bloody a i l face . In p in , suffering nausea , Boros asked pol ce officers passing his ce l to “ ”

. Not now . get him a doctor , they said Law Director Clar ence James learned of the trouble at Euclid and 105 th from Walter Burks , executive assistant to Mayor Stokes . When he arrived all there , was quiet . In another telephone conversation with Burks , James to learned of the arrest of th e NBC cameramen . James went pick up Council

to i D . man George Forbes , and both went F fth istrict headquarters The police ’ “ station was , by James recollection , a nervous armed camp ringed with police ”

and . a officers , shotguns , machineguns A policem n guarding the door from ’ th e as garage was reluctant to let them in , despite James position city law di l am n rector . After vehement protest they eventual y got in , and J es bega to no tice peculiarities . He passed through a room containing four or five captains

- ins ec hi . and three lieutenants , an unusual number of gh ranking officers An p “ ” tor said they were there taking care of platoon business . No Negro police atrolrnen n men were in Sight . Few p were weari g badges ; a sergeant and a cap

. tain were wearing theirs , but they were unnumbered “ When Forbes and James saw Boros , his face a mass of blood and puffed ” a to . up , James ordered him t ken Lakeside Hospital D r A few Negro policemen came into Fifth istrict headqua ters , and James asked one of them to accom pan y him to a nearby coffee shop . Over coffee the Negro policeman told hi m that black suspects were being beaten at the n . a Fifth that ight The paddy wagon would be backed up to the g rage door , be then , before the electric door was all the way up , prisoners would dr agged

an d . from the wagon , beaten kicked When the NBC cameramen were brought i of a to ni in , the policeman sa d , a lot officers were cle ned from the building mi mize the number of witnesses . i w as m Meanwh le , Julius Boros taken to the e ergency room at Lakeside “ al tw o officers—one i — Hospit by police black , one wh te who were very nice

w as X- m to me . There he examined and rayed and given so e pill s in response f “ hi s o . di to pleas pain Then he was smissed . There is nothing wrong with ” “ ” : you , he quoted the doctor as saying You have some bruises . He was to r given a prescription have filled . The two police officers retu ned Boros to

Fifth District headquarters . a t l Clarence J mes felt Boros needed fur her medica attention , and ordered to l al that Boros be taken the prison ward of Metropolitan Genera Hospit . Soon thereafter a lawyer from NBC arrived and requested that Boros be taken back to Lakeside Hospital . Evidently the change of plans w as conveyed to the police ambulance wh ile Boros was en route to Metropolitan Hospital ; he n one of recalls that , during the trip , a policema ( the two who had aecom panied him on the fir st trip) Opened the window separating front compart “ on ment from back and said , Julius , we just had a call the radio that changed a the story ; we are going back to L keside . Boros recalls that he sat at Lakeside Hospital ; nothi ng happened until one of the police officers told him he had to be taken to Central Police Headquar D l l to l P ters . Law irector James and Counci man Forbes a so went Centra olice to t e Headquarters , only find that the person in charge in h detective bureau 0 to did not have the proper form to release Boros . N one there appeared hi n w h o ai know anyt ng about the matter , including a lieutena t s d he had just

. t come on duty ; soon thereafter he went home Even ually , with the help of f or . hi s attorneys NBC , Boros was released from custody He was given back hi s m or . confiscated possessions , but not ca era his watch to al for Boros was then taken Lutheran Hospit , where he was treated broken ribs , a ruptured spleen , fractured vertebrae , and facial scrapes . He had

hi s . bruises and cuts on face , arms , back , abdomen , and legs He had a broken ll tooth . Boros sti required hospital treatment after he returned to Chicago 2 August . Th e i accou n of police , meanwh le , offered a brief and rectitudinous t the P a Ku iecki din to n . D Boros incident atrolman on ld p , accor g the accou t , had apprehended a Negr o suspect at the corner of 105 th and Euclid when he asked Boros to move because he was causing a traffic hazard . According to the Cleveland Plain D eal er:

Kupiecki said that Boros then grabbed his gun from its holster . The tw o i ao men wrestled for the weapon , wh ch pointed at the policeman , to Wh w as cording the report . en Boros was subdued and being placed

i l Ku iecki . nto a po ice car he kicked p , the report states It adds that i ki Kup ec was treated at Lakeside Hospital .

“ Police Prosecutor James Carnes exam ined both sides of the story and decided 6 that a charge of assault agai nst a policeman was warranted against Boros . He “ further stated that both cam eramen had been treated in a proper and reason ” - a 1969 w as able manner by police . In a trial in mid J nuary , Boros acquitted f o the charges .

The analysis by the mayor’s office would indicate that violent activity had

i . not been reduced Wednesday n ght The figures , however , do concur with n a h P those presented by others , includi g a st tement publis ed by the lain D eal er “ 26 h - m ordoned on July , t at at least forty seven stores in w area were either of burned or looted yesterday . The precise amount damage Wednesday night will probably never be confirmed . Hardest hi t among the 63 busine sses were groc eries furniture stores 10 hi a ( ) and clot ng stores The L keview Tavern , involved in the Tuesday night shootout , was the only bar reported looted , although the State Liquor on 105 th w as It Store East Street looted twice . ( was not included among the of 63 c list damaged establishments , sin e it is not a privately owned business . ) Opinions vary on whether Negro- owned businesse s were carefully spared from t r 1 66 . damage , as hey had been du ing the Hough riots of 9 A reporter for the Call Post o of cited evidence that Nergo merchants were Spared , though s me 63 i w as the businesses listed are Negro owned . Certa nly racial strife a con 20- - l tributing factor in the pattern of looting and violence . A ye ar o d Negro “ college student who participated in the violence told an interviewer : I ’ f r burned the corner Jew who had been getting my folks o years . I didn t have

I s . f a desire to loot . j u st had to put that cat out of busines But the choice o targets for looting may have had more to do with the commodities coveted than anything else . The alumni group of the Harvard Business School talked to 5 0of the mer

” " s l 4 8 of chants whose busines es had been affected . Of these , on y ( percent) I the owners believed that they had full insurance coverage ; 22 (44 percent) 24 48 had partial insurance coverage ; and ( percent) , the largest group , had no 14 f n . v o insura ce coverage at all At the time of these inter iews , the mer chants (28 percent) were open for business and required no help ; 20(40per cent) said they would reopen in the same area if they got Short - term financing or adequate insurance payments ; seven ( 14 percent) had not decided what to do ; and nine (18 percent) had closed their businesses and did n ot plan to te open in the neighborhood . i of De A . L . Rob nson , the Cleveland Business and Economic velopment “ of n : Corporation , cited an effect the looting that ca not be measured I think the lootin g put fears in the heart and min d of a gr eat man y people w h o under normal circumstances would like to go into business [in the area] An older “ resident of Glenville looked at looted buildings and asked in bitterness : Why do we destroy ourselves"”

REFERENCES

1 h l e ones w as ac n h sic a ri s s a em in to ee th e eace oli ce w ere at . W i J f i g p y l k , tt pt g k p p , p

em in to se ch f r w e ons in his a ar m en . Th e o aine a sear ch w arran t pt g ar o ap p t t y bt d t , n ccor in to th e th en call ed City Hall for permissi on to en ter th e cor do ed area. A d g “ Cleveland Press C all call e ac and o o i ce ones w oul i e h em ermis , ity H d b k t ld p l J d g v t p Poli ce eclin e u n er h ose circum si on to search hi s apar tm ent w ith ou t a w arran t . d d d t ” stan ces . i ur ra an ano h er of th e ac i e eace ee ers on e nes a ni h h ad al W lb G tt , t t v p k p W d d y g t, ready clash ed with th e forces of law ; th e previ ous nigh t h e had been attacked by po li cem en w hile attem pting to rem ove a w oun ded sniper from behin d a burning build

Th ree o h er eace ee ers— eor e or es al er each an d DeFore st row n t p k p G g F b , W t B , B W ere su mm oned to a cou nty grandj ury h earing on Au gust 24 wi th ou t th e courtesy Law and Disor der

“ To h of prior notific ati on . ave th ree poli cem en c ome barging in to m y office w ith a ” “ summ on s and esc or m e ow n ow n is an in su sai ou n ci m an No on t d t lt , d C l F orbes. w i ” der th er e ar e r ots . For Harll el ones h ere w ere to b e ur h er r ou es wi h th e ic J t f t t bl t p ol e .

2 . Th e Ne r o is m uch e ter off h an h e w ou h a e ou eli e e th e o ice an I g b t t ld v y b v , p l m said . f th e ru h w ere n ow n h e ad e th e an u s u se t t k , d d , B t d to sell th em selves in to slavery b e cau se h e oun it far m ore a an a eou s fo h r em to do so . Th e an u s in urn t y f d dv t g t B t , t , a e in o sl a er th e u sh m e Th e w oul d t k t v y B n . p olic em en felt th e Negr oes h ad been very “ ” s h en co on w as in h appy as slave . W tt k g th e tim es w ere good and thi s general pro riet of th e ou h ex en e n ot on to th e w h es b ut N p y S y al so to th e e r oe s. Now h e t t d d l it g , “ ” e Ne r oes ar e con m en r in to c on in ce th e m erican c f lt , g t y g v A publi of h ow b ad wh en all h e are not so b things are re y t y ad at all .

New s a ers u o e o es as sa n in a 1 am . s a emen h 3 . p p q t d St k yi g t t t t at 10fires h ad been set

a e e nes a ni h . th e a h im ress c on erence on A u . 9 S a e by t t t W d d y g t At City H ll p f g , f ty irec or M cM anam on s a e h a in th e 24-h our erio e inni , p n at .m . Wed D t t t d t t d b g g p , nesda e enin h ere w ere 23 re or e r es of w hich onl 7 w ere y v g , t p t d fi , y set by vandals or o h er incen iar es th e res w ere re in l es al se al arm s or res u nre a e t i t d i ; t k d , f , fi l t d o th e d s c s c cor in to McM an am on h ere w ere on 17 oo in in ci en s urin turb an e . A d g , t ly l t g d t d g

- th e 24 h ou r period . 4 cc or in to one sou rce a or o es consi ere u sin for ni h im e u on e . A d g , M y St k d d g g tt d ty ly th

400 u ar sm en assi n e h ere urin th e da . Ge n . Del orso al e at h is in si s G d g d t d g y C b k d t , t — — ing th at all th e troop s m ore th an tw o th ou sand b e all ow ed to p atrol th e area at “ ” ins s e all or no h in an d o es a e in t his sh es . e Cor so ni h D l o wi . g t i t d t g , St k g v 2 m n h s l a er Har ll el ones h ad an o h er of h is m an n -ins w h th e li ce . ou o ru o 5 Ab t t t , J t y it p (none of w hi ch ever ended in a convicti on) : Police rai ded th e Afr o Set on th e pretext

h a m ssin ls w ere h ere . No ir s w ere oun b ut ol ce con sca e l ac na t t i g gir t g l f d , p i fi t d b k ti on ali st fla s m ar e out-of- ow n el e h one irec or e s ni es as m as s an d a g , k d t t p d t i , k v , g k ,

s a 00Ne oes m ar ch e in or er ro es o er th e in ci en . sh o un . e eral a er 3 r tg S v d y l t , g d d ly p t t v d t

On M ar . 3 1969 Harll el ones l e a am a e su a ain s th e hree o , , J fi d d g it g t t p li cemen h o arres e him in ul 1968 ch ar in al se arres and i e al se ar ch an d w t d J y , g g f t ll g

sei zu re .

f u 28 h ar es Ra si ne a sor erl c on uc 6 . urin th e ear m ornin h ours o D g ly g J ly , C l y g d di d y d t

w aiver w hich effectively im munized h im again st criminal ch ar ge s.

a policeman asked the secretary of the Civil Service Commission at a m eeting P of the FO . Claiming applicants for promotion would not have time to read l 16 FOP the books before the exam schedu ed for November , the sued to have i Th e w as the test delayed and the reading l st shortened . suit dropped when the Civil Service Commi ssion agreed to reschedule the test for December 14 th e to 14 and reduce reading list books .

3k

d on 27 Cleveland Plain D ealer for an In an e itorial September , the called an d end to the tensions cleavages opened by the Glenville incident .

This city must not be turned into a mutual aggr avation society . It is for r — f time all g oups for their own sa ety , for their own good , for their ’ u — children s f ture to work together for a peaceable , lawful , orderly

communi ty .

The editorial went on to condemn an yone w h o tries to keep up the ven ” de tta . Plain D eal er e of - en Three days later the began a s ries front page articles , “ ’ ” P : on M i titled The Cleveland olice What s Their ind , that effect vely kept the vendetta going . The first installment of the series contain ed a barrage of quotations from al of D McM anam on and P li policemen critic Mayor Stokes , Safety irector , o ce “ h w Chi ef Blackwell . The article cited pernicious claims t at the mayor as pro ” “ ” in o tect . t r g black nationalists He wants get them in the police depa tment , of one officer w as quoted . Though it had been promised that the series arti ru few facts e cles would separate fact from mor and myth , the interspers d l —for among the critica Opinions were negative ones example , concerning out w a of m oded police vehi cles . Nothing s said reforms and improvements then s h in Pl ler out . T e ain D ea in progres ( next day , a side article , the did point e i 164 o hi that Cleveland had rec ntly acqu red new p lice ve cles , and that many f o these were already in service .) i The second installment , which purported to be about nadequate equip l 4— e t unintenti on ment , opened with a quotation in point typ hat perhaps “ ’ ”

ll : s . a y , had racist overtones We re like a Briti h outpost in Africa Like the a l c m of l c a of first rticle , the second pub ished om ents po i emen lleging lack leadership and inadequate equipment . a on 2 n tu The third inst llment , October , fra kly discussed racial atti des in “ : hi the police department . It began with a quotation in large type T s busi ’ ness about putting a whi te and Negr o policeman in the same car won t work . ’ You got to have a close relationship between partners . If you re not bud ” a of -c - dies , forget it . There were several quot tions the most olored people - i of appreciate us sort . Of the troublesome m nority black militants , a police “ lieutenant offered this anal ysi s : I think these black nationalists are financed ” ni r directly by Commu sts o front groups . “ ’ ” The next instal lment of Th e Cleveland Police : What s on Their Mind re peated th e charge that the mayor w as pushing black militants into the police department and contained the allegation that standards were bein g lowered to di ssati sfac let them in . The fifth and last article in the series expressed police r U li f tion with the cou ts and with S . Supreme Court ru ngs a fecting police procedures . Cleveland in th e Afterm ath

th e of Pl At beginning the series , the ain D ealer had announced that seven — t ll one of reporters hree police reporters , two city ha reporters , ( them a al — Negro) , and two gener assignment reporters were compiling and writing the ll of . a w as series Nearly the work , however , done by the three police report s h as er . It been noted in sociological studies that policemen often develop a conspiratorial outlook on the world an d a persecution complex about them “ ’ ’ ”

as a r . al selves g oup ( We re one , we re a football , a patrolm an told one of the ' ' reporters . ) While police reporters do not necessarily develop the police atti ni h to tude toward the commu ty , t ey tend reflect that attitude as an uncon “ or scious unstated condition of their continuing rapport with the police . The ’ ” Cleveland Police : What s on Their Mind gave free rein to expressions of cyni

cism a . , conspiracy , and group par noia The series o f articles in the Plain D ealer w as defensible as news because it of brought to the attention Clevelanders serious problems , especial ly problems

. is t o of morale , in the police department It notewor hy , however , that the p lice had publicly aired their grievances in the days and weeks following the l Glenvil e incident , that tensions had begun to subside at the tim e the articles were published (and deserved no rekindling) , and that steps had alr eady been a m i t ken to i prove the situat on in the police department . While the series of articles led readers to an impression of a police department suffering stagna a tion , much of the discontent may actu lly have stemmed from the uncertainty and insecurity that impending changes and improvements in the department were then creating . ’ Many Clevelanders who regar d the Plain D eal er as the city s most responsi “ ble newspaper were shocked by the content and tone of The Cleveland Po ’ ” n r al lice : What s o Thei Mind . Negro leaders were outraged . The loc chap of the P and R ai Plain Deal er ters NAAC CO E announced boycotts ag nst the .

Other articles appearing in the Cleveland Plain D eal er fed suspicions that own the newspaper was carrying on a vendetta of its . 3 al of - r On October , concurrent with the fourth inst lment the police g ipe “ - fiv e- : series , a front page , column headline read FBI Is Refused Warrant ”

U . P l . S in Glenville Riot robe . The article told of the refusa of the Attorney General in Washington to grant a warrant to the FBI to search a farm in Ash 50 il of a tabula County , m es east Cleveland , llegedly used by black militants w as involved in the Glenville incident . A source within the police department “ as w as quoted saying , Our information that the FBI felt there were weapons m i and possibly dead bodies [at the farm] . The i plicat on was made that the of be Justice Department had thwarted the legitimate work the FBI , possibly cause of racial sensitivities . hi t Plain According to reporters interviewed for t s study , the edi ors of the Dealer had known of the warrant refusal for some time but had saved the “ ” - Cleveland story to use as a tie in with the series on police complaints . The Press Press investigated the matter and came up with a different story . The article reported that 5 0locations had been reported to Clevelan d poli ce as i A sh possible gun locations , but there was insufficient nformation to link the “ tabula farm with the Glenville shootings . If we did [have enough informa “ al own r . tion] a police offici said , we would have sought our sea ch warrant 88 Sh oot-Out in Cl eveland

Plain D eal er e U. m The next day the reported that S . Repres ntative Willia E . n n for i Minshall , a Republica runni g reelection in a predominantly wh te subur a n ban area of Cleveland , was c lli g for a special session of the Federal grand Mi nsh fll U. . jury to investigate the Glenville incident . accused S Attorney “ ” of di General Ramsey Clark shiel ng the guilty parties in the incident . On

5 Plain D ealer -c October the , under an eight olumn headline , reported that Stu linski U . f S . o . Attorney Bernard J p had responded with the promise a Fed eral gr and jury investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Glenville Cleveland Press Stu linski incident . That afternoon , in the , p denied that he an l al had y intention of calling a specia Feder grand jury to probe the incident . i i A Federal agencies , nclud ng the FBI and the lcohol Tax Unit have been gathering information as to possible violations of Federal law since the

first shot was fired in Glenville .

of Stu li nski If any violations Federal law are found , p indicated , they would of be presented to a regular session the grand jury . 16 Plain D ealer " On October , the unleashed a maj or expos , revealing de of to l tails an incident , embarrassing the mayor and other high officia s , that “ 5 m fi e- . v in had taken place onths earlier Under a column headl e , CORE ‘ ’ ” r s Plain D eal er of Bodygua ds Freed by City Hall in Gun Ca e , the told the “ dr oppin g of concealed weapons charges against two Negroes at the request ” of unnam ed officials at City Hall in May 1968 . ’ The tw o East Side Negroes were temporary bodyguards for CORE s former M Kissi k i . c c . national director , Floyd B They were arrested dur ng the early m ornin g hours of April 5 8 hours after the assassination of Martin Luther th e of M cKissick King , outside home a prominent Negro stockbroker where Ro n was sleeping . Shortly after they were arrested , y I nis , then associate na tional R D director of CO E , showed up at Sixth istrict headquarters to appeal McKi ssick for their release , saying that had announced on a nationwide news cast that hi s life had been threatened and that the two arrested men were McKi ssick not i protecting him . Noting that had requested pol ce protection , the officer- in-char ge at Sixth District headquarters declin ed to release the tw o m men . Later in the orning , however , they were released on orders from Chief

Prosecutor Jam es S . Carnes . f 2 A jury trial on the concealed weapons charge was scheduled or May 1 . on 16 one i On checking the court records May , of the arrest ng officers found “ that the case had been advanced to May 6 and the records marked Nolle ”

r P . Pros , indicating that the charges had been d opped by rosecutor Carnes e 16 a th Plain D eal er . After revelations on October , John T Corrig n , prose cutor of Cuyahoga County , proceeded to take over the case dropped by the of n al n city Clevela d , an unusu move considering the charges were o ly for a m misde eanor . Corrigan succeeded in getting indictments against the two men w h o e from the county grand jury . Carnes , had resigned as city pros cutor in ’

to . September , was unresponsive reporters questions about the case Mayor s to on Stokes at first refu ed comment the case , then admitted he had been as instrumental in having the charges dropped . But he defended the move n n i necessary duri g the volatile hours followi g the King assassinat on , when “ we were tryin g to hold th e city together and trying to keep down an y i issues that m ght erupt .

Sh oot-Ou t in Cl evel an d

Wh a inv asion by black national ists . at c me instead were further instances of l o polarization , instigated by the anonymous pamphlets and severa raciall y ri ’ on ented beatings Cleveland s West Side . A rumor spread among par ents of white students at Shuler Juni or High School and John Marshall High School that their childr en were threatened with mass attacks by black nationalists called in by Negro students to protect them . Negro parents were told that hi s to r w te gang were assembling attack Neg o students . On Monday , October 21 70 t out of h a a , Negro s udents walked John Mars ll High School and a sm ller t f a ou o . h number w lked Shuler Junior High School Amidst t is walkout , rumors spread over the West Side that students and principal s had been beaten up . t ’ o . Negro groups contributed Cleveland s polarization In September , noisy interference of a City Council meetin g by black militants did little to win for t r . w as sympa hy their g ievances , however meritorious And in October it revealed that a group of black national ists calling themselves the Black Infor mation Service were attempting to coerce some East Side merchants into turn

10 of for - m ing over percent their profits , allegedly neighborhood i provement condem projects . The extortion shamed the Negro community and brought nation from its leaders .

of 1968 of Many months after the violence July , the neighborhood Glen t w as r e ville bore the scars . On Lakeview Road here a large vacant a ea wher tw o th e c houses burned to the ground during the gun battle , giving blo k the appearance of a row of teeth with two incisors missing . On Superior Avenue t t here were stores that were black , gaping shells , others that hid protec ively a on o behind plywood p nels at their windows . Graffiti scrawled the plywo d of P : 20-20 told hatred and smoldering violence . Black people buy rotection ” shotguns Passport to freedom w as scribbled on a boarded-u p drycleaning “

: il . store . Said another K l Wild Beast Stand and be counted in the war ” t of agains the Beast . Here and there were more positive evidences the new of old e Muh am black pride . The marquee an movie theater that had b come ’ ” : mad s Mosque proclaimed Allah is the Greatest . Among the stores doing m r : business on the avenue a number bore Muslim na es , some incong uously a The Sh bazz Market advertised kosher meat . Some stores sold African handi as h crafts , A med once had done . for to Though they had cause bitterness and fear , many merchants elected t on wh o for s ay in Glenville . One had particular cause bitterness was Jack f 105 th a o e . Friedm n , owner a departm ent store at East and Sup rior Friedman a of had been active in the community ffairs Glenville , a white man seeking racial harmony an d better conditions for Negr oes of the neighborhood . Most fhis a m o to . employees , including several p managers , were bl ck Fried an made f i n to many o them stockholders in the enterprise . A Negr o bus nessma said “ ’ " ’ ou on one of u s. him once , Friedman , why don t y put burnt coffee You re ’ Dur of 1966 i ing the Hough riots , Friedman s store had been spared wh le r others nea by had windows smashed . 1968 hi s w as on of v In , department store hit the first night iolence , some time after Friedman had returned home from a meeting at the Office of£00 “ w as of nomic Opportunity . It like the feeling cold ice , he recalls , when he f o a . D learned the dam age . The store was a sh mbles isplay cases were smashed , Clevelan d in th e Afterm ath

their contents gone . Vandals broke into a case displaying shoes only to dis al l cover that the shoes were for right feet . Looters gr abbed clothes even from m and 0 the mannequins , someti es taking paj ama bottoms leaving the t ps . w as Friedman estimates that , of worth of merchandise in stock , he 5 left with less than $ 00worth .

But Friedm an decided to stay . I have faith in Glenville and a small bunch ’ ” of hoodlums isn t going to destroy my faith in it . He wanted to help heal the wounds and continue to work for the betterment of the Negro commu “ m ” mi . r a . Ikn o ty I happen to be of a minority g oup yself, he s id w what ’ ” they ve gone through .

REFERENCE

m a ers n o his ow n h s 2 1 o ic e ser ean ou s or s oo an w ee s a er . He . A p l g t , L i B , t k tt i t d k l t ’ en to th e o ernor s o ce in ol um u s w earin hi s uni orm carr in a 10- a e w t G v ffi C b ( g f ) , y g p g i o cal lin for th e ou s er of o es M cM an am on an d Law irec or am es for petit n g t St k , , D t J “ lec in to en orce th e l aw r oss ne l ec of u m a easan ce mis ee w ill full y neg t g f , g g t d ty , lf , f ” - san ce and n on easan ce in o ce . o ernor h o es re u se to act on th e e i i on , f ffi G v R d f d p t t

Sh oot-O u t in Cleveland

e on m p rsonal injury a group of Negroes ; the Negroes , as victi s , usually did 1908 hi of to . fi . en little counterattack In , the w te community Spring eld , Ill , i 2 of raged by two alleged rapes of wh te women by Negroes , launched days i i i rioting , burn ng , and lynch ng a med at the Negr residents of the city . Most a in Negroes fled in terror . About of them g ered for protection the

fi al . Spring eld Arsen ; others fled to safety elsewhere Before the riot ended , of militia were patrolling the streets of Spring field . Riots a similar sort

NC . . h occurred in Wilmington , . East St Louis , Ill Was ington ,

D C . . and Tulsa , Okla n Negr oes did not remain passive in rioti g . The next pattern to emerge w as one i in which the Oppos ng races sought to inflict physical harm on each other . w as 1 1 i 27 1 - 9 9 . 7 An example the riot in Ch cago On July of that year , a year old r r n l e l Neg o d ow ed during an interracia scuffl at a pub ic beach in Chicago .

The incident touched off a Week of racial warfare . Though the riot produced

w l - as a . i property damage , the maj or objective physic harm Th rty eight per 23 15 a sons were reported killed ( Negroes and whites) , while a reported tot l f 5 37 342 178 i 17 o . were injured ( Negroes , wh tes , undetermined) Even with l r th e die hi Nationa Gua d units in the city , violence did not down until C cago of al faced rain and falling temperatures . The same type raci violence was evi in 4 3 th e 19 3 D . ll dent riot in etroit , Mich There , in less than fu days of riot in 7 10 al or l of g, individu s were injured ki led . Once again , persons both races in of w as participated the violence ; the maj or form violence physical attack . ’ The spate of riots in American cities during the mid- 1960s followed a dif f rent - - e e . . N pattern These were Negro dominated , property oriented riots groes initiated the violence and directed their hostili ties toward property of hi rather than persons . Most the property was w te owned but located within th e Negro ghetto . The violence seldom Spread beyond the borders of a al of c i c the ghetto . Gener lly the only white casu ties the violen e were pol e or n other law e forcement officers trying to control the rioting . for c 1935 The precedent this kind of violen e occurred in Harlem in . On 19 w as dirnestore March , a Negro youth caught stealing from a in that pre t of t dominantly Negro sec ion New York . A crowd that ga hered outside the store got th e impression that the b oy had been murdered by white employees of to m the store . As the rumor spread , Negro mobs began roa the streets of for be a nd . c Harlem , breaking store windows looting Ex ept confrontations

l l hi . tween po ice and looters , a most no w tes were drawn into the violence r Looting continued through the next day , but was finally brought unde con i trol by pol ce and local Negro leaders .

1967 of of n . In , riots this pattern occurred in a number America cities The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission) stud ied these riots and concluded : hi 1967 W le the civil disorders of were racial in character , they were not inter 1 as of . 967 d racial The disorders , as well earlier isorders the recent i of period , nvolved action within Negro neighborhoods against symbols — — American society authority and property rather than against white

persons . A New Pattern"

The vi olence that erupted in Cleveland at the end of July 1968 may have e n of mark d the begi ning a new pattern . Though it soon fell into the estab lish ed of pattern Negroes destroying property in the ghetto , it began as vi o

i . t lence a med at personal injury Black dominated throughou , it ended in more white casualties than black . Though the whi te victim s were policemen , as of i attacked symbols the wh te society rather than as men , the mode of vengeance had taken a signi ficant step beyond damage to whi te-owned busi e l - of ness s . A small , we l equipped army black extremists w as responsible for o s or not the blo d hed (whether they fired the first shot) . The depths of anger and extreme beliefs from which the violence Spring are indicated by the fact ’ that the presence of a Negro in the mayor s chair did not prevent it from hap of of pening . The extent alienation many blacks from the white society is ih dicated by the fact that Negro leaders could not stop the violence once it ’ a of one- started . (A f ir appraisal the mayor s night strategy would acknow l no a edge that blood was shed , that the peace patrols were underm nned , that of and most the trouble came from juveniles , that traditional methods of full i not scale repression dur ng riots have been notably successful either .) To acknowledge that the Cleveland riots began as person-oriented violence is not to w as of in say that the Glenville incident a planned ambush , part an “ ” tercit or a of as P y conspiracy , the first st ge revolutionary armed struggle , hil f o Hutchings o the Student Nonviolent Coordinating C mmittee called it . On t hi s i U. o S . At r the same day that Hutchings gave interpretat on of the event , ney General Ramsey Clark offered the opinion that the Glenville incident w as “ ” - the random act of a handful ofvery extreme and violence prone mili tants . “ He found even less evidence now of militant agitation or conspiratorial ef ” t t al al forts o cause [riots] han in the past sever year s . Mayor Stokes so w s no of r concluded there a evidence a police ambush o intercity plot . He “ blamed the incident on the spontaneous action taken by a group who were ” A its armed and emotionally prepared to do violence . fter investigations the “ ” ’ Cuyahoga County grand jury substantially agreed with the mayor s analysis . “ Baxter Hill had a convincing rej oinder to th e conspir acy theory . When an ” “ ’ ’ r sai ev er bod ll an d insu rection comes , he d , y y be in it we ll all know about ” it . It is beyond the scope of this inquiry to speculate whether such an insur f or . o rection , in Cleveland elsewhere , will ever come But , like the specter an e atomic holocaust that now forces nations to seek p ace among themselves , an d the possibility of interracial civil war may yet goad Americans , black to : to n i to white , noble steps erase tensio s and misunderstand ngs , correct

to a t . longstanding inequities , restore tr nquilli y in their nation

0 l w ill q l N person sha l purposely and y kil a sheriff, deputy sheriff, or ] h u f con constable , policeman , marshal w ile s ch sheriff, deputy sheri f, or a ] is char of stable , policeman , marsh l in the dis ge his duties . Whoever violates th is section is guilty of murder 1n the first degree and shall be puni shed by death unl ess the j ury tryin g the accused recom hi a mends mercy , in w ch case the punishment sh ll be imprisonment for

The State introduced 266 exhibits an d called 86 witnesses in order to prove n l if not m a circumsta tia ly , conclusively , that Ah ed Ev ns with four other co of on 23 1968 defendants was guilty conspiring to murder July , . The State built its case on the testimony of approximately eight gun deal ers who sold u to hm g ns A ed , and the testimony of Robert Boone , a neighbor , who said ’ that he saw cars with out-of-State license plates delivering guns to Ahmed s house . The prosecution demonstrated that Ahmed had the funds necessary all n DeForest of to make these purchases by c i g Brown , director the Hough ’ D Ah r evelopment Corporation , who testified that med s g oup had received a “ ” : grant from Cleveland Now . a D a L ter they brought in etective Robert Birt , who gathered m ny of the ’ guns and bullets from Ahmed s apartment and the scene of the shootings on f 23d t o . o hi s the night the . Sgt Victor Kovacic was asked present findings e of D “ f regarding th matching bullets and guns to wounds . uring the progress o ’ n the trial , the State offered i to evidence a slug fired from Ahmed s gun which 5 1 was allegedly found in police Car 9 . Several key witnesses were als o called upon to relate their contacts with hi w as 123 12 the defendant . Walter Was ngton , a youth who claimed that he at b al 23 r h Au urnd e on the morning of July , stated that he hea d A med talk about “ ” kill ing the beast and said that Ahmed showed hi s followers how to use the ’ s Patrohn an a M all e guns present in the hou e at that time . J mes O y and several other poli ce officers from the surveill ance teams assigned to watch 123 12 tes tified h 123 12 that A med left Auburndale with other men , armed , at about 8 23 . of : 10pm . on July Another cru cial identification Ahm ed was made by l a McMill an - c w as ll Wil i m , the tow tru k driver , who shot and who a eged that it Un o . var was Ahmed wh shot hi m Finally Sgt . John g y related conversations he had with Ahmed wherein Ahm ed desc ribed hi s bran d of black nationalism “ ” “ ' al bl ood in as revolution by force . He so stated that Ahmed predicted the ” “ ” streets of Cleveland an d a war by the black people on the beast . The defense emphasized that the corner’s examination revealed that two

of th e olicem en n al of . p , Golo ka and Wolff, were leg ly drunk at the time death

m s Dr . According to the e inent forensic pathologi t , Cyril Wecht , James Chap — man w as killed by a gun held at no more than 6 inches from his head and a t th e hence by a policeman . The defense maint ined hat the guns in posses ’ sion of Ahmed s group were bought to form a rifle club and that they were al of a i leg , legitimate purchases . They disputed the credibility Walter W sh ng f wh ton as a witness (h e w as a convicted arsonist and thie ) . Several witnesses were at the hospital when M cMil l an w as admitted testified that McMil l an re ported that he did not see who shot him . Reports were presented to the j ury that Car 5 9 1 has been repaired 1n Sep 1968 1n tember , and that there had been no detection of a bullet imbedded Sh oot-Ou t in Clevelan d

1 the vehi cle until April 969 . In order to impugn the validity of police testi su mony , the defense bpenaed seven persons who testified that they were vic of i on 23 tims police brutality at the Lakev ew Tavern July . No policemen admitted having knowledge of these acts . A key defense witness w as Joseph

r . u Turpin , J , a workhouse guard in whose house Ahmed s rrendered . He claimed that Ahmed w as in his house from 20minutes after the shooting be to gan until he surrendered the police . He said that Ahmed was not one of the men he saw shooting at the tow - truck driver and that Ahmed had said he n to to wa ted surrender stop the shooting and burning . After the closing statements by lawyers of both the State and defense ,

. McMona l e of the Judge George J g explained the charge the law to jury . He told the jury that the indictment w as not evidence in the guilt of the defend It l a l ant . was merely a forma way of leg l y charging a person with a crime . In al of actu ity , a presumption innocence must surround the defendant until the “

to d . jury comes a ver ict Regarding the use of a reasonable doubt , Judge McMona l e or g stated that it must be more than a possible imaginary doubt . A “ reasonable doubt is when the jury cannot feel an abiding conviction to a r moral certainty of the truth of the cha ge . He told the jury that they also must determine the degree of credibility that they would assign each witness . of In further explaining the charge aiding and abetting , he cited Revised “ ai d or en Code Sec . which states that to abet is to help or assist To one to courage , counsel or incite . procure do something is to persuade , to

to a or . induce , prev il upon cause it to be done Hi s definition of conspiracy w as a paraphrasing of conspiracy as it appears ’ “ of McMona l e s in the Ohio Revised Code . In g words , a conspiracy is merely an agreement or understanding between the parties to the conspir t no . m acy . It need be an expressed agreement It may be i plied from all of the evidence and circumstances “ d of He charged that irect testimony conspiracy is unnecessary , but it [the conspiracy] may be established by circumstantial evidence showing concerted m or of action in co mitting an unlawful act , by proof facts creating an infer ence or inferences that the unlawful act was in furtherance of a conspiracy . The judge said that if cir cum stan tial evidence is consistent with either guilt or innocence , the jury must give the defendant the benefit of the doubt . The jury may draw inferences from proven facts but not inferences upon infer m e ees . He informed them that the defendant w as innocent if the State had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt these charges . On the other hand , if the defendant w as found to be guilty of any one of the charges of fir st degree

l o or h . murder , the jury sti l had the ption of granting with olding mercy ’ One of the final parts of Judge McMon agle s charge to the jury was that of the lesser but included charges : murder in the second degree and voluntary and involuntary manslaughter . ’ The jury retired to deliberate immediately after the judge s charge at about for 4 . 10 1 6 m 9 9 . p . , Saturday , May , They discussed the evidence the remain and of . o der the day On Sunday , the jurors to k several oral ballots eight writ — of ten ones seven for the seven counts and one for mercy . By the end the ’ i one day all the jurors agreed to the defendant s gu lt , but juror wanted more time to think about the issue of mercy whi ch sh e al one at that point favored . Th e Trial and Convic tion of Fred (Ahm ed) Evan s

12 um When the jurors reconvened on Monday morning , May , they were m w as of fir st- r on animous that Ah ed guilty deg ee murder all seven counts ,

. w as re without mercy On that Monday , approximately at noon , the verdict turned in open court . hm him Before sentencing A ed , the judge asked if he had any statements . Ahmed replied :

l s r of I fu ly understand the ways of life a they are now , and the t uth

no . the matter is I have regret I have no malice towards anyone , white people nor anyone else Thi s will not end by the means that have been used today agai nst the l black man who are wi ling , who are able , who are strong enough to

stand up . ’ The electric chair or fear of anything won t stop the black m an of

today .

I feel justified in that I did the best I could . And , of course , con

cerning these charges I am not a murderer .

Judge McM onagle answered :

If w as an it . it can be said there y defense you presented . . was h ou not ou r ou t at y did agree with laws , and apparently y were not

bound by them “ I think it is perfectly obvious that we can not have a system where hi s own every man is law .

i on . Furthermore , Ahmed had inflicted a horrible wound the commun ty hi The judge hoped that the community , w te and black together , would con f the tinue to work together or coequal status within law . 1n e Thereupon , he sentenced Ahmed to die the el ctric chair on September 2 f 2 1969 o . , , between the hours midnight and sunrise

REFERENCE

1 Th e essence of a c on s ir ac is th e a r eem en or oinin o e h er and in som e a es . p y g t j g t g t , St t and un er e eral l aw h is com in a i on for an unl aw ul end is sel a cr m e e en d F d , t b t f it f i , v is n t u m h ou th e a ee act is ne er c arrie out . In Ohi o h ow e er con irac o t gh gr d v d , v , sp y l aw ul er se an d h ere can b e no i o a i on of th e l aw unl ess som e su s an i cri m e f p , t v l t b t t ve e e n an is h ere m ur er is commi e ursuan to th e c on s rac . E en h en , th e ( , d ) tt d p t pi y v t d f d t

ch a e and ri e f r th e su s an i e o ense not for th e con s irac . rg d t d o b t t v ff , p y