Cincinnati offers lawsuit settlement
CINCINNATI (AP) – A year after Cincinnati erupted in riots over the police shooting of a black man, the city agreed to restrictions on the use of force and announced plans Wednesday to establish an independent agency that would investigate police brutality complaints. The moves are intended to satisfy U.S. Justice Department concerns and settle a lawsuit accusing the police force of harassing blacks for the past 30 years. The settlement still must be approved by the various parties by Tuesday to avoid a trial.
The independent agency would have seven citizen members appointed by the mayor and City Council, and would have its own investigative staff. It would replace a city investigative office as well as an existing citizen police review panel that has no staff.
The new panel would investigate such things as shootings, deaths in custody and other major uses of force.
The proposal was released after days of negotiations between city lawyers, the police union and parties that filed the lawsuit, including black activists and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Settlement talks were joined last week by representatives of the Justice Department, which is investigating police procedures and has recommended numerous changes to enhance training, improve record keeping and make policies clearer.
To satisfy federal concerns, the city separately proposed prohibiting the use of choke holds except where deadly force is authorized; informing officers that they risk prosecution for use of excessive force; and limiting the use of chemical spray.
In both sets of concessions, the city did not admit any wrongdoing by its police force.
“This is a historic moment for Cincinnati, and I strongly believe both agreements will significantly reduce crime and improve police-community relations,” said Mayor Charlie Luken, who had asked for the federal review of police procedures.
Black activists last year began urging entertainers and convention groups to stay away from Cincinnati to pressure the city to improve race relations. Their demands include ending police harassment of blacks, public accountability for police misconduct and economic equality for blacks.
The Rev. Damon Lynch III, a Cincinnati clergyman who is among the boycott advocates, has said any agreements reached Wednesday would not be enough to end the boycott. He said he would view them as a sign of good faith to negotiate about ending the boycott.
The settlement calls for ending the adversarial relationship between police and the community and getting them to work together to reduce crime and solve problems.
Implementing the proposals could cost $5 million, including at least $1.25 million in the first year, for equipment, police staffing and operation of a citizen review panel, officials said.
Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. said he is confident his department can meet all the requirements of the new agreements with additional training and some shifting of duties. Cincinnati has about 1,000 police officers and plans to hire 75 more over the next two years.
Councilman Jim Tarbell said the agreement will mean a lot more work for police, but he thinks it will be worth the effort.
“It’s basically community-oriented policing, which I think we’re all for,” Tarbell said. “More out-of-the-car and onto-the-street, getting more active in community meetings, more physical presence in walking the beat.”
The city also proposed the creation of a group of specially trained officers to respond to incidents involving the mentally ill. That move stems from a 1997 case in which a man threatening officers with a brick was shot and killed by police.
The harassment lawsuit seeks a court order permanently prohibiting racial profiling by police. The department denies targeting suspects by race.
Three weeks after the lawsuit was filed last year, a white officer shot and killed an unarmed black man, touching off three days of riots. Dozens of people were injured and more than 800 were arrested in the worst racial violence in Cincinnati since the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.
Stephen Roach, the officer involved, was acquitted of all charges. He quit in January to work for a suburban Cincinnati police department.
—
On the Net:
http://www.cincinnatipolice.org
http://www.acluohio.org