ACLU files motion saying Cincinnati in Violation of Police Brutality Agreement

The American Civil Liberties Union accused the city Thursday of failing to heed police reform agreements reached with the Justice Department and black activists in the wake of three days of race riots in 2001. The ACLU of Ohio in its court motion asked that federal Magistrate Judge Michael Merz find the city in breach of the agreements and order their enforcement. "The basic problem is that the city is trying to unilaterally declare success and end federal supervision of the city when the problems haven't been fixed," ACLU lawyer Scott Greenwood said. "The city can't just walk away from these agreements. They are about police reform and are not just public relations campaigns to attract tourism." The ACLU among other things said the city has failed to implement problem-solving in the police department, improperly used arbitrary arrest sweeps and is seeking to end the agreements prematurely. The ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit against the city in 2001, accusing the police of harassing black citizens for 30 years. That year, Mayor Charlie Luken asked the Justice Department to examine police operations following three days of rioting. The riots came after a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black man wanted on misdemeanor charges who ran from police. The officer was cleared at a trial. [more