Eighty-five percent of the adults arrested during last week's citywide curfew were African-Americans, according to an Enquirer analysis of 566 arrest reports.

        Eighty-eight percent of the arrests were made in predominantly black neighborhoods.

        The Enquirer was able to analyze 90 percent of all curfew arrest reports; the rest were unavailable. A total of 623 people were arrested for curfew violations by the Cincinnati Police Division.

        The curfew enforcement was focused on the areas of the city in which there were problems, Lt. Ray Ruberg, spokesman for the police division, said Thursday. “This was done in order to ... prevent any further violence.”

        But some leaders in the African-American community said the analysis supported their contention that the Cincinnati Police Division selectively enforced the curfew.

        “We had a curfew law brought forth, and it seems like it was enforced in certain areas and in certain areas it was not,” said the Rev. Aaron Greenlea, president of the Baptist Ministers Conference.

        Mayor Charlie Luken established the curfew on April 12 to restore calm after two nights of rioting prompted by the death of Timothy Thomas, an unarmed African-American teen shot by a Cincinnati police officer on April 7. The curfew ended April 16.

        The Enquirer analysis of the curfew found that:

        • African-American males comprised 66 percent of all arrests. Female blacks comprised 19 percent. Thirteen of the 14 juveniles arrested were male blacks.

        • Forty percent of all arrests were in Over-the-Rhine, the neighborhood where Mr. Thomas was shot and the site of much of the street violence. Predominantly black neighborhoods such as West End, Avondale, Mount Auburn and Walnut Hills also had many arrests.

        • 197 arrests were made Friday, the second night of the curfew and the night before Mr. Thomas' funeral and the arrival of national leaders such as Martin Luther King III and Kweisi Mfume, national NAACP president.

        • In predominantly white neighborhoods, 60 percent of those arrested before Saturday evening and Mr. Thomas' funeral were African-American. Sixty percent of those arrested Saturday night and Sunday were white.

        • Twelve percent of the arrests were made in predominately white neighborhoods such as Oakley, Hyde Park, East Price Hill and Mount Adams.

        The Rev. Mr. Greenlea said he thinks police began to arrest more whites for breaking the curfew because it became apparent that Cincinnati was in the national spotlight and the police division didn't want to be cast in a more negative light.

        “If my town is in the national spotlight, I'm going to make it look as good and equal as possible,” the Rev. Mr. Greenlea said. “When you have high-profile men come into the city, the whole world is on you. I thought it would never end. I hope to God that we don't look as bad as people are saying.”

        Ken Lawson, representing Mr. Thomas' family, said he will file a federal lawsuit today against the city and the police division over the curfew and its enforcement.

        “They enforced it with the same double standards everyone is upset about,” Mr. Lawson said.

        Lt. Ruberg said there was no effort to do any selective enforcement.

        “Everyone has to realize that the police division was dealing with a very demanding, serious situation and everything that we did was in the interest of public safety to make sure no one got injured .”

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