CINCINNATI — The nonprofit behind a report detailing a "worsening racial disparity" in Cincinnati police stops stood by their methodology in analyzing CPD contact cards.
DeRay Mckesson, executive director of Campaign Zero, which researches policing practices and proposes policies for reform, said the nonprofit did an independent review of the city's data on traffic and pedestrian stops, not speaking with any outside groups (like public defenders, community leaders or city officials) until it finished its analysis.
"What is true is that this is an independent report. There is no contractor, employee of the city, or elected official who has had decision-making authority about any contents of the report," he said.
WATCH: The nonprofit responsible for a new report on Cincinnati policing responds to city leaders' statements, goes over findings
Mckesson said they then met with community and city leaders, including City Manager Sheryl Long and interim Cincinnati Police Chief Adam Hennie, to discuss their findings. During their meeting with the city, the city offered to give them data that is not publicly available to provide further context, resulting in the nonprofit withholding their release until further analysis was completed.
However, before that data could be released, both Long and Hennie had released memos questioning the nonprofit's methodology despite Mckesson saying Hennie was "silent" in their private meeting discussing the analysis, asking no questions nor providing any feedback.
Campaign Zero was given the additional data provided by the city that details when 911 calls dictate officer movements. However, Mckesson said they believe the data does not suggest that the majority of police stops were due to 911 calls.
"The city's argument is that 911 calls, in the data called 'calls for service,' dictate movement of police officers across the city, and that it is not one cause that determines who the police stop," Mckesson said. "We think that is an interesting way to think about it. Though, we think that that does not reflect reality."
We reached out to a city spokesperson, asking if the city manager's office had any statement to share in response to Monday's press conference. The spokesperson wrote back, "The city's been clear on next steps so that's what we're moving forward on."
"The mayor's comments from last week stand. He expects a full review of the report and supports the administration's outlined next steps," Mayor Aftab Pureval's chief of staff, Keizayla Fambro, said on Monday in a statement. "Resources will be there to implement any necessary studies, problem-solving projects and recommendations. Again, if findings show a racial bias, it has to be fixed."
Mckesson and other members of Campaign Zero then provided their full completed report, which shows that while stops have "fallen dramatically" since 2009, there remains a racial disparity in traffic and pedestrian stops within city limits.
"The white the neighborhood, the higher the disparity is," Mckesson said.
WATCH: We break down the report released Thursday
The nonprofit said in its report that Black people have consistently been the most stopped racial group each year, despite U.S. Census data showing that Black residents make up around 36% of the population.
"The data shows an undeniable, persistent, and worsening racial disparity in who Cincinnati police choose to stop," the report says.
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%.
You can read the entire report below:
When comparing motorist stops to the racial makeup of the city's neighborhoods, the report said majority-Black neighborhoods have very equal stop rates between Black and white residents. However, the report says Black residents are 3.7x more likely to be stopped in a majority-white neighborhood than a white resident.
Separately, the report says Black pedestrians made up for 80% of police stops in 2025 compared to 19% white pedestrians. In majority-Black neighborhoods, Black pedestrians are stopped 1.3x more likely than white pedestrians. In majority-white neighborhoods, the report says Black pedestrians are being stopped at "8x, 16x, even 32x the rate of white residents."
Campaign Zero said they've also run another analysis where they looked at interstate stops, which found white people were stopped significantly more than Black people on interstates in Cincinnati city limits — "a near reversal" of the ratios seen in neighborhoods. When interstates are excluded, the disparity ratio is higher in majority-white neighborhoods and lower in majority-Black neighborhoods.
According to its website, where anyone can visit and analyze the findings themselves, Campaign Zero says of the 472,666 stops made between 2009 and 2025, 49,005 took place on the interstates and "are excluded (from the report) because highway stops cannot be benchmarked against a residential population."
"Interstates pass through but are not part of any residential neighborhood," the website says.
The report claims crime rates explain higher stop rates in particular neighborhoods, but do not explain the racial disparities.
Mckesson did say that there are bright spots in the data that show periods where racial disparities are very low, like in 2012 and 2016.
Cincinnati City Council member and former Cincinnati police officer Scotty Johnson was among multiple city leaders to question the findings. He pointed to patrol geography as a potential factor in the numbers.
"What part of town these officers are patrolling in — if you think about a community like Winton Terrace, (it) is probably 95% plus Black. If an officer is showing that he or she is stopping more Black people than white people and they patrol Winton Terrace, the fact that the population is 95% Black would tell that story," Johnson said.
The city said it is planning for a separate review with additional context that provides "a thorough, fair and full picture of policing in Cincinnati."
Johnson questioned the report's intent while speaking with us.
"You wonder if this is not politically motivated to attempt to drive a wedge between the black community and the police department. I'm glad we've got leadership on both ends that are seeing right through this and are asking the right questions," Johnson said.
Mckesson said their goal is to give the public the data to seek more information on why specific neighborhoods have higher disparities. He said they will recommend ideas on what they believe could help keep the disparity ratio down.
