CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati City Council will soon vote on whether it will approve the settlement of a lawsuit filed by attorneys representing protesters in 2020.
As we reported Friday, the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County have settled a class action lawsuit claiming people's First Amendment rights were violated during protests over the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
The city announced Friday it has reached an $8.1 million settlement, of which Hamilton County will pay $65,000, in Kenney, et al. v. City of Cincinnati, et al.
The lawsuit, filed by 11 people and later joined by more than 400 plaintiffs, claims a curfew set in place by former Mayor John Cranley was unconstitutional and led to the unlawful imprisonment of protesters.
On May 29, 2020, after daytime protests dissolved, police said smaller groups began vandalizing downtown businesses. Eleven people were arrested.
The next day, Cranley announced a 10 p.m. curfew for specific neighborhoods. In the days that followed his announcement, hundreds of people across the city were arrested for curfew violations.
Dozens of protesters were held outdoors for hours at the Hamilton County Justice Center's sally port — a gated area with four walls and no roof supervised by deputies. Some told us they were denied food, water and bathroom breaks for more than 10 hours.
City Solicitor Emily Smart Woerner explained the details of the settlement to members of the Public Safety and Governance Committee Tuesday morning.
"The monetary aspect of this settlement is a payment in total of a little over $8 million, which will be funded by judgment bonds should the settlement be approved by the federal district judge," Woerner said.
Watch to hear the details of the settlement council members will vote on:
Woerner explained that the non-monetary portion of the settlement includes policy changes within the Cincinnati Police Department.
Those policy changes are:
- The creation of a Civil Disturbance Operation Procedure (CDOP) Guidebook, which standardizes and formalizes CPD operations during protests and similar events
- The creation of a standard Dispersal Order that officers shall use during civil disturbances
- Updated procedures to notify and collaborate with Hamilton County Municipal Court, the Hamilton County Justice Center, the Hamilton County Juvenile Court and Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center when CPD anticipates mass arrests
All of this information was provided by City of Cincinnati spokesperson Mollie Lair when the settlement was announced Friday.
"In (Woerner's) opinion and the opinion of our legal department and our administration, this settlement is where we need to be; let's get it done," Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney said.
Members of the council, including Scotty Johnson and Kearney, questioned why Hamilton County is only paying $65,000. Johnson brought up protesters being held in the sally port at the Hamilton County Justice Center.
"Though the settlement agreement does not contain any admission of wrongdoing on behalf of the city and I want to make that clear. There are allegations in the complaint that exceed the issues in the sally port," Woerner said.
Johnson spoke with the media following the committee meeting.
"I don't understand, while this allegedly all took place in the sally port part of the jail that the county controls, why Cincinnati is paying the brunt of this. $65,000 out of $8 million is a joke," Johnson said.
I received this email from Hamilton County spokesperson Bridget Doherty.
Hi Sam,
Making sure you have our statement below— There seems to be a misunderstanding of custody. Throughout the event, deputies provided humane and respectful treatment to all individuals in the custody of the Cincinnati Police Department who were being presented to the Hamilton County Justice Center for in-processing. These efforts included assisting the Cincinnati Police Department by offering shelter, restroom access as well as food and water to arrestees in the custody of the City, prior to the Sheriff’s taking custody of them. The Sheriff takes custody during processing.
The statement Doherty referred to was sent out following the settlement's announcement last week.
It read in part, "This nominal settlement reflects the professionalism and care demonstrated by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office during a near record-level influx into the jail that occurred in the spring of 2020. Throughout the event, deputies provided humane and respectful treatment to all individuals brought to the jail."
Hamilton County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Kyla Woods told me she's looking into whether the sheriff's office made any policy changes following the protests. I am waiting to hear back.
Johnson and Kearney told me they expect this vote to be taken up by the city council on Wednesday.
