Minutes after the nine-person grand jury's decision was made public, Thomas' mother, Angela Leisure, criticized the outcome. I don't feel like justice was served. He took a life. Jesse Jackson said he was disappointed by the indictment. City Manager John Shirey said his office spent much of the day preparing for the fallout from the grand jury's announcement, and hoping for the best.
Critics say Cincinnati has had a history of racism and police mistreatment of blacks.
African-Americans make up 43 percent of the city's 331,000. In March, before the Thomas shooting, the American Civil Liberties Union and several black activists sued the city in federal court, accusing the police of failing to end 30 years of officers' harassment of blacks. Tribune news services contributed to this report.