The Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency in Bond Hill was the site of one of the first listening sessions by the consulting firm hired by the University of Cincinnati to study its police department and recommend change.
The hiring of follows the shooting of Sam DuBose July 19, 2015 by former UC officer Ray Tensing. Tensing has since been fired and awaits trial. The university has settled with the DuBose family.
The external team will conduct a comprehensive review of the UC Police Department including all policies, procedures, practices and training. A report is due out in four to five months. A mid-report will also be released.
"There are issues but they are not issues that are insurmountable." -Charles Ramsey
Review team member Charles Ramsey, former commissioner of both the Washington D.C. and Chicago police departments said the problems at UC are fixable.
"So, right now we're listening to Cincinnati Police, the city and university police, the community, trying to gather as much information as possible, reading a lot of documents. And then, based on our experiences, based on reaching into other jurisdictions, we'll come up with some solid recommendations that will be helpful to them."
Activist Iris Roley is not convinced. She asked Exiger, "So is this another report? How transparent will this report be? Who's responsible for taking your recommendations and turning them into action?"
Bishop Stephen A. Scott, Vice President of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Cincinnati said Exiger is suspect, given team members are not from Cincinnati. "Because we've been tricked, we have been talked to because we've been given all kinds of answers and reports and nothing ever changes."
Exiger President Jeff Schlanger asks the community for a chance. "I would just ask the people of Cincinnati to reserve judgment, wait for the report and while we can't guarantee implementation, we can certainly guarantee that we will be making appropriate recommendations that will, if implemented, yield results."
Another listen session is scheduled for March 2.
