Apart from a strong police presence, the streets of Cincinnati were virtually deserted during the night, with only a few arrests of people breaking the curfew reported. But the BBC's Mike Donkin says the real test will come on Saturday, when the funeral takes place of Timothy Thomas, the unarmed teenager who was shot dead by a white police officer trying to arrest him. President George W Bush has urged the people of Cincinnati to remain calm and has sent two Justice Department officials to the city to serve as mediators. But black community leaders say the riots come as no surprise -Thomas is the 15th black suspect killed by the Cincinnati police in the past six years. He has said the measure will remain in place for as long as necessary.
Black citizens are tired, they're scared in their homes.
White citizens are tired, they're targeted in their cars. But the Reverend Daman Lynch, who runs a local church, says the rioters only wanted to send a message. There is no violence tonight and those that were rioting, if you talk to them, they had no intention of rioting forever. They relied on their leaders after 14 deaths, to negotiate, to bring about plans but there was no action. Violence On Wednesday night, groups of demonstrators smashed windows, looted shops and assaulted at least one white motorist, dragging her from her car before others came to her aid.