CINCINNATI — Community members in Mount Airy gathered Tuesday night to discuss a June report examining racial disparities in Cincinnati police stops, asking what comes next and calling for more accountability.
The meeting was held at Truth and Destiny Covenant Center in Mount Airy, where residents voiced concerns about policing in District Three.
"Tonight I heard from people who were here who live in District Three, and they have concerns," pastor of Truth and Destiny Covenant Center Lesley E. Jones said. "And they have complaints around being stopped."
One attendee raised a pointed question about the purpose of the conversation:
"Are we looking for a solution for the cops beating me over my head three times more, or are we looking for a solution for us not appreciating the numbers?" one attendee asked.
WATCH: Hamilton County public defender, community leaders share their reaction to Campaign Zero's report
What the report found
The report, released in June by Campaign Zero, analyzed 17 years of Cincinnati Police Department contact card data. The study was requested by the Hamilton County Public Defender's Office.
The report found significant racial disparities in police stops. It says that last year, Black people made up 80% of pedestrian stops and 66% of traffic stops in a city that is about 40% Black. The analysis also found Black people were stopped 5.4 times more often as pedestrians and 3.4 times more often as motorists than white people.
"People in the community do feel that there is a discrepancy in the way that policing is handled," said Angela Chang, Hamilton County's chief public defender.
Chang said the concerns grew from what attorneys were seeing with their clients.
"The impetus for this work was really what our attorneys were seeing day to day, right; being concerned about the types of stops that our clients were experiencing, the interactions they were having — that our Black clients were experiencing stops in a different way than other clients," Chang said.
The report includes multiple charts that show stop rates per 1,000 residents, noting that racial disparities appeared to rise during the COVID-19 pandemic, though the report says this might have been impacted by more Black residents being employed as essential workers and still commuting at that time.
Additionally, it shows a growing gap between Black and white motorists stopped in Cincinnati. In 2009, the report says data shows Black residents accounted for 58% of stops while white residents made up 41%, a gap of 17 points. In 2025, the report says data shows Black residents accounted for around 66% of motor vehicle stops while white residents made up 27%.
A more detailed breakdown of the report can be found here.
Background: The collaborative agreement
The contact card system grew out of the collaborative agreement — a settlement following a federal lawsuit accusing CPD of racially biased policing. The agreement came after years of tension between police and the Black community, including the 2001 police shooting of Timothy Thomas, which sparked months of unrest.
Iris Roley, a consultant with the city of Cincinnati, acknowledged progress while recognizing ongoing challenges.
"Since we started the collaborative agreement, we can give you some data that says Black folks are a little bit safer than they were before we started," Roley said.
City's response
City Manager Sheryl Long has said she was not consulted earlier in the process. In a statement, the city said it is now "working collaboratively with Campaign Zero to provide context from other data sets."
Jones, who serves as senior pastor of Truth and Destiny Covenant Center, said Tuesday's meeting was only the beginning.
The next meeting is scheduled for July 14 at the Urban League in Avondale from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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