CINCINNATI — 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 in 2020.
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. Crowds from those neighborhoods then traveled to nearby areas, like Clifton Heights, where they vandalized businesses and, at one point, fired a shot that hit a Cincinnati police officer's ballistic helmet.
Cranley then enacted a city-wide curfew set even earlier. 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.
Watch: We spoke with protesters about their conditions after they were detained
The lawsuit also claims officers used a process called kettling against protesters before curfew to keep them from leaving the area, and their use of force during arrests resulted in injuries.
"The city and county's ruthless misconduct and abuse chilled the speech of protesters and infringed on the rights of protesters, journalists and bystanders to be free from unreasonable seizures and use of force," the lawsuit claimed.
The city said in addition to the $8.1 million, the settlement includes policy and operational changes for the Cincinnati Police Department, including:
- The creation of a Civil Disturbance Operation Procedure Guidebook, standardizing and formalizing operations during protests
- The creation of a standard Dispersal Order that officers will 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 Hamiton County Juvenile Detention Center when police anticipate mass arrests
"I am glad to have reached a settlement and am especially proud of our CPD officers and their willingness to continuously improve policies and procedures," City Manager Sheryl Long said in a statement. "While the incidents that led to this case predate the current administration, we as city leaders must do everything we can to address the issues passed on to us so that they can be prevented in the future. Thank you to Solicitor Woerner and the entire Law Department for their years of hard work to achieve this conclusion."
The two Cincinnati law firms that represented the plaintiffs, FG+G and Santen & Hughes, also released a statement on the settlement, calling it "positive changes" to police policy.
"Our community will benefit from CPD's commitment to these reforms, and we commend the city and county for taking this opportunity to acknowledge, protect, and work for the interests of the people," said attorney Jacqueline Greene, FG+G partner.
The city said an ordinance to approve the settlement agreement will be presented to City Council's Public Safety and Governance Committee Tuesday, Dec. 9.
