European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 8, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 b the stars and stripes wednesday May 8,1991washington mayor orders curfew second night of violence engulfs City by the Washington Post Washington a mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon imposed a curfew in the District of columbian a mount  Adams Morgan neighbourhoods monday night after youths in a second night of Street violence fought running skirmishes with a thousand police officers set fires destroyed vehicles and looted stores. Rocks bottles Clouds of tear Gas and smoke from burning buildings filled the air As police in riot gear pursued bands of youths through the predominantly hispanic areas Southeast of the National zoo. A the situation is such that we think there is clearly a state of emergency a Dixon said As she announced a curfew of 7 . To 5 . In the area. Wafting tear Gas stung hundreds of apartment and condominium dwellers while the disturbances blocked traffic throughout the area Dixon who earlier had told officers to disperse crowds and make no arrests announced late monday night that police would begin rounding up youths because the situation is a not As contained As it needs to be and we re going to have to be More  a a we re going to cordon off the area and we re going to arrest them now a Dixon said. It was not Clear How Many arrests had been made. What began sunday night As a disturbance involving hispanic youths after an officer shot a hispanic Man being detained for Public drinking a valved into a rampage of hispanic and Black youths much of it aimed at property. Do. Police chief Isaac Fulwood or. Said 13 police vehicles were damaged monday night in addition to six destroyed by fire sunday night and the departments losses totalled at least $600,000. He also said he had called in 108 hispanic officers to help Deal with the situation. \ a a a a. A. A a a a / a a a a a a a Quot 1 a at least four police officers were reported to have been injured last night. Fire chief Ray Alfred responding to one of the fires was reportedly struck in the right Eye with a Brick. Two other firefighters were reported to be slightly injured. Looters hit several retail stores at one drugstore several people were seen leaving with cloth diapers sodas and watches. One unidentified Man said a a in be just gone  As others left the store they set magazines on fire. A fire set at a fast food restaurant quickly spread be firefighters in Washington d.c., attempt to extinguish a bus set ablaze monday night by rioters. Cause of a 30-minute delay in getting fire units to the scene. A  a a a a a a a a a a. A. A a a a. A. R several vehicles including a metro bus were also set afire. Police reported at least four instances when gunshots were heard but it could not be immediately determined if there were any injuries. In one group a youth could be seen brandishing a handgun. The incidents began monday night despite a Daylong Effort by City officials and hispanic Community leaders to Avert a repetition of sunday nights incident. As Twilight deepened dozens of officers in riot gear confronted several Hundred youths some with bandannas Over their faces marching South on mount pleasant Street near the scene of sundays incident. A a they re standing up for their rights a Bea Rodriguez a mount pleasant resident said of the youths. A this explosion has been brewing in the Community for a Long time. If you live Here you see a lot of abuse by  in the shooting incident sunday police said that they shot a Man identified monday As Daniel Enrique Gomez 30, after he Drew a knife while being arrested for drinking in Public about 7 30 . Gomez was listed in critical condition at Washington Hospital Center suffering from a gunshot wound to the Chest. But some witnesses said that Gomez was shot while handcuffed. That version of the incident spread quickly though the neighbourhood and several Hundred youths began hurling bottles and rocks at . Officials reject Dallas redistrict plan Dallas apr City elections were left in limbo tuesday after the Justice department rejected a redistricting plan it said does not do enough to get Blacks and his panics elected to City Council. The May elections had been sus Pended pending the departments review of the so called 10-4-1 plan. The plan twice approved by voters would create 10 single member districts and four regional ones with a mayor elected at Large. A the City has not demonstrated that the proposal now before us provides Black and hispanic voters with a realistic Opportunity to elect candidates of their Choice to the City Council in any of the quadrant districts. Or in any More than three of the 10 local districts a the department said monday. It was not immediately known if City officials would revise the plan or ask for another ruling. Dallas Council system in which eight members Are elected by District and three including the mayor Are chosen citywide was challenged in 1988 by two failed Council candidates. San Francisco moves toward giving health benefits to unmarried partners a san Francisco a the Board of supervisors voted to provide health benefits for City workers Domestic partners a whether Gay or heterosexual married or not. A we arc finally recognizing the legitimacy of lesbian and Gay families and the impulse that we have just As All others have to protect our loved ones a supervisor Roberta Achtenberg said after the 11-0 vote monday. The Board will take a final vote May 13. Mayor Art Agnos has said he will approve the measure. San Francisco has 47,300 people in its health plan. A mayoral task Force found that about 1,000 heterosexual and 1,000 homosexual partners would be added. An additional 1,350 children would also be eligible including about 800 children in Gay families. City workers who add their partners and children to the health plan will pay the same rate As municipal employees who include spouses. The City expects to pay about $2 million More a year for its share of the expanded coverage. . I los Angeles a a judge ruled that the destruction of stun gun darts used in the videotaped beating of Motorist Rodney King does not warrant the dismissal of charges against four police officers. Defense lawyers argued monday that the loss of the darts wiped out important evidence that could have pointed to the innocence of the officers. Superior court judge Bernard Kamins deciding the first of 30 pretrial motions also threw out a so called enhancement charge that could have exposed sgt. Stacey Koon to an additional three years in prison if convicted. The pretrial motions amounted to a 4 foot High stack of papers in the courtroom. King w As kicked shocked with a stun gun and beaten with nightsticks March 3 after being pulled Over for speeding. A bystander captured the beating on video. The judge said the officers a Koon Theodore Briseno Timothy wind and Laurence Powell a were responsible for preserving the darts removed from Kings clothing w Hen he was taken to a Hospital. A the officers charged Here were not aware that a videotape had been made when they were at the Hospital a the judge said. A if they thought Taser darts were important to the Case of Rodney King they should have preserved  the darts deliver a Shock intended to subdue suspects. The officers have suggested that King did not react to the darts and that they beat him because that led hem to believe he was under the Iri-1 fluence of the Hallucinogen pc. In addition to charges of brutality assault and filing a a Bice report Koon a the supervising officer at the scene of the beating a had faced an enhancement charge accusing him of inflicting great bodily injury. Kamins dismissed the charge saying Koon did no to actually participate in the beating. That reduced to four years and eight months the maximum sentence Koon could receive