The period of unrest was sparked after 19-year-old Timothy Thomas, an unarmed African American man, was shot and killed by Cincinnati Police Department Patrolman Stephen Roach during an attempt to arrest him for non-violent misdemeanors, most of which were traffic citations.

Tensions were already high in the city following a series of other incidents involving police brutality and racial profiling, including thirteen deaths.

Much of the subsequent unrest took place in Over-the-Rhine, the neighborhood of the victim immediately north of Cincinnati's central business district.

[4] The array of poverty-associated problems resulted in heightened tensions between African-American residents in the neighborhood and the Cincinnati Police Department.

[7] A number of other civil suits were initiated against the department, including one African-American man who alleged he was handcuffed and beaten during a traffic stop.

He claimed that during a routine traffic stop, police illegally ordered him out of his car, handcuffed him and held a gun to his head.

"[12] In the early morning hours of April 7, 2001, Cincinnati police in Over-the-Rhine attempted to arrest the 19-year-old, who was wanted on 14 nonviolent misdemeanor counts, of which 12 were traffic citations.

[2] The pursuit culminated at 2:20 a.m. when Thomas rounded a corner in a dark alley and surprised Roach, who shot him in the chest at close range.

Parts of the crowd headed back downtown, where they began to overturn garbage cans, vendor carts, and newspaper boxes.

Police moved in on horseback or with linked arms and dispersed the crowd with bean bags, tear gas and rubber bullets.

But, at nightfall on April 11, another interval of unrest broke out downtown as nothing had yet been done in retribution for the killing of Timothy Thomas, and more businesses were damaged and looted.

[1] The morning of April 13, Cincinnati Mayor Charles J. Luken announced a citywide curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for all but work travelers.

A group of seven law enforcement personnel arrived in patrol cruisers and fired bean bag ammunition into a crowd of 20, injuring four, including two children.

[13] There has been extensive discussion within the local community about the effects of suburbanization and urban decay in the city,[14] as well as the redevelopment of Over-the-Rhine, a historic neighborhood.

[1] CPD officers began an unofficial work slowdown, which coincided with a rise in violent crime in the downtown area.

An internal police investigation found Roach had lied in his incident report, had not followed department firearm procedures, and had not given Thomas sufficient time to respond to his order.

[1] Significant gentrification of the Over the Rhine community began just before and continued after the period of civil unrest, as developers found property values low enough to allow acquisition and redevelopment.

[5][3] Several large Cincinnati companies, including Fifth Third Bank, Procter & Gamble and Kroger, announced support for reforms in the city, such as investment in schools and minority-hiring programs.

On the ten-year anniversary of the protests and civil unrest, Cincinnati Enquirer reported that "[t]he riots neither initiated the racial tension nor the police reforms, but accelerated both.