NEWS

City limits traffic stops by UC police

Sharon Coolidge
scoolidge@enquirer.com

After Samuel DuBose was shot and killed by a University of Cincinnati Police officer during a traffic stop, campus cops voluntarily halted patrols off-campus.

On Wednesday, Cincinnati City Council unanimously voted to formally stop the patrols while the agreement is reviewed.

“It’s important to point out what (the ordinance) doesn’t stop: They can still go off-campus, still do walking patrol, still make incoming students feel safe,” said Councilman Christopher Smitherman, chairman of the Law & Public Safety Committee.

“What the ordinance does is put a pause as we ... work on a new memorandum of understanding around traffic enforcement.”

Smitherman would not speculate what will come out of a final agreement.

The plan is to work quickly, but there is no time frame on a completion of a new agreeement.

Mayor John Cranley said the public will be given a chance to weigh in.

“I think we are all concerned that (the current agreement) was made without a lot of public input, without City Council approval.There is going to be a need for a lot more public input.”

Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell told the Law and Public Safety Committee on Monday that he agrees with the suspension.

The suspension comes after former UC Police Officer Ray Tensing fatally shot Sam DuBose during a traffic stop July 19 about a half mile from campus. Tensing has been indicted on a charge of murder.

University data reviewed by The Enquirer shows 62 percent of traffic stops issued by campus police went to black motorists and pedestrians last year. That’s up from 43 percent in 2012. The total number of tickets handed out by UC police also rose sharply, from 286 in 2012 to 932 so far this year.

The city signed a memorandum of understanding in 2009 that allows the off-campus patrols that largely give UC officers the authority to police in city of Cincinnati and enforce laws.

Blackwell has met with UC Police Chief Jason Goodrich to talk about what a new agreement would look like.

Andrew Naab, UC’s student body president, told council before their Wednesday meeting that work on a new agreement needs to happen quickly.

“Thousand of students from all over the world are coming back to campus,” Naab said. “We need our UC police department back on the streets.”

He understands the concerns and supports the ordinance to stop traffic stops, but is hopeful the partnership continues.

Robin Engel, who has long analyzed crime statistics for the city and has been named the university’s new vice president for safety and reform, said there will be “a lot of different voices at the table.”

“We are going to be working collaboratively for effective and equitable policing practices,” Engel said.

She said the university recognizes students are returning and that there are concerns about safety.