History
A series of civil disorders took place in and around the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood from April 9 to 13, 2001. This was the largest urban disturbance in the United States since the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Sparked after 19-year-old Timothy Thomas, an unarmed black male, was shot and killed by a Cincinnati Police Officer during an attempt to arrest him for non-violent misdemeanors, mostly traffic citations. Officers only knew from the dispatcher that Mr. Thomas had more than a dozen warrants.
As a result, several lawsuits were filed. The American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit led to the Collaborative Agreement in 2002 to improve police service to communities and to implement community-oriented policing.
A Memorandum of Agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice, the City of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Police Department was executed for initiatives to improve police service to minority communities, revise use of force guidelines, including the ways uses of force were recorded and tracked, and form a committee for community policing initiatives.
U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott appointed a federal monitor who oversaw compliance for the next 6 years.
While there were several outcomes from the Collaborative Agreement and Memorandum of Agreement in 2002, one key outcome was the creation of the Citizen Complaint Authority. City of Cincinnati Ordinance # 0108-2002, codified in the Cincinnati Administrative Code, Article XXVIII established:
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An independent and impartial forum for the review, investigation and resolution of misconduct complaints filed by citizens against police officers.
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Investigative and administrative authority.
The underlying purpose was to strengthen public confidence by ensuring such claims were reviewed diligently while attaining the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and accountability in the Cincinnati Police Department.