Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) - A proposed settlement in a year-old racial profiling lawsuit seemed to be gathering momentum from the quick approval of black activists, but supporters point out it could dissolve if even one party fails to give its OK.
“I think all of us are concerned about the FOP,” City Council member David Crowley said of the police union that began voting Thursday on the tentative agreement.
The 1,020 members of the Fraternal Order of Police began voting the day after the Cincinnati Black United Front approved the agreement. The officers make up the largest group voting on the tentative settlement, and final results were not expected until Saturday, union officials said.
Capt. James Whalen, head of the police department’s inspections section, visited roll calls Wednesday to explain the proposals.
“They’d heard some of the worst-case scenarios,” Whalen said Thursday. “We just wanted to get out and give them the straight story. I gave them my opinion that it was very acceptable,” said Whalen.
The tentative agreement incorporates Justice Department recommendations that include tightening procedures governing police use of force, improving record keeping of use of force and reforming procedures that govern police use of force
U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott said that all parties in the lawsuit accusing police of harassing blacks for the past 30 years must give their approval by Tuesday to avoid a trial.
The other parties voting on the proposal are the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit, and City Council.
City Council members were scheduled to vote Friday morning, and Mayor Charlie Luken and other council members said that they expected the council to approve the settlement.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Friday that it had surveyed the council late Thursday, and all six Democrats said they would vote yes. Charterite Jim Tarbell could not be reached for the survey, but Republicans Pat DeWine and Chris Monzel said they would probably vote to approve the settlement despite some lingering questions.
Some of those questions center on the settlement’s financial cost. City officials’ estimate initial costs of about $7 million, to be followed by operating costs of as much as $2.5 million a year for five years.
In another show of support for the proposed agreement, Cincinnati’s business, religious and political leaders gathered at City Hall on Thursday. They also promoted recent developments intended to improve education and employment opportunities for black residents, and to encourage better police-community relations.
Top corporate leaders, church officials and the mayor said the benefits include teaching computer and construction skills to underprivileged residents, getting ministers into the streets to counsel and interact with troubled youth and getting police officers involved in meeting with community residents.
Broadcasting executive Ross Love, co-chairman of a commission appointed last year to improve education and job opportunities for blacks, said Thursday’s announcements underscore the commitments of local government and the private sector.
“We have potential to do some great things,” Love said. “It’s only if we as a city come together, that we can fulfill the potential.”
Angela Leisure, mother of the black man whose shooting prompted last year’s riots, attended the City Hall gathering and stood with community leaders during the announcement. Leisure said she hopes the education and job initiatives will produce real results for blacks who have felt left out of Cincinnati’s economic growth.
“The city of Cincinnati and the citizens of Cincinnati know there has to be some positive changes,” she said.