The Village of Evendale will hire an independent group to look into its police response to a Feb. 7 neo-Nazi demonstration on its border with Lincoln Heights.
Meanwhile, some Lincoln Heights officials and residents are calling for a boycott of Evendale businesses over continued questions about that police response and the village's subsequent actions.
Evendale will spend roughly $70,000 to hire a group called to look into how officers responded to the dozen hate group members.
21 CP Solutions includes former Cincinnati Assistant Police Chief James Whalen, who also served as University of Cincinnati's director of public safety and chief of police in the immediate aftermath of the UC Police shooting of Sam DuBose. The team also includes former UC Vice President of Safety and Reform Robin Engel, a criminal justice researcher who spent four years in that role after the high-profile fatal police shooting of DuBose.
Evendale Village Council member Chris Patterson cited the group's national reputation, diverse makeup and experience as reasons 21 CP was chosen. He also said time was of the essence in making the choice.
"The level of outrage, the level of intensity was palpable," he said, speaking of a village council meeting at which residents expressed their concerns about the response to the hate group. "Letting that fester and saying, 'We’ll get back to you' was not an option. And so this was one where we knew the reputation, we knew the people involved. This is the most important money Evendale will spend this year by far.'
Critics of the department say it didn't do enough to stop a neo-Nazi group who wore masks while carrying rifles and waving flags bearing swastikas on an overpass between the village and Lincoln Heights. They also questioned why an Evendale officer gave one of the neo-Nazis a ride in his cruiser in an effort to retrieve a Jeep the hate group member left at the scene of the demonstration.
Lincoln Heights’ response
Monday at the Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Julian A. Cook said it's good that Evendale is looking into its response, and that it released body camera footage from that day. But the community feels cut out of the process.
"The Evendale officials' disrespect of the Lincoln Heights community and its leaders in choosing not to include Lincoln Heights officials and elected leaders in its response ... is absolutely unacceptable," he said.
Lincoln Heights Mayor Ruby Kinsey-Mumphrey echoed those sentiments and threw her support behind calls for a boycott of Evendale businesses.
"I just want it to be known that the Village of Lincoln Heights will be supporting the boycott," she said.
Recent events have added to the tension. On Sunday, Hamilton County Sheriff deputies found and cited a man from Kentucky named William Bader for throwing Ku Klux Klan propaganda from his car in Lincoln Heights.
Patterson acknowledged the frustrations Lincoln Heights residents are feeling. He said a series of town hall-style listening sessions between the two communities are in the works.
"They were impacted in a way you can't imagine," he said of the neo-Nazi demonstration. "What they say they need, what they want, how they feel — it's totally up to them and we're going to sit back and listen."
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