UC chief 'horrified' by tickets given to black people
The University of Cincinnati has now assembled its new four-person administrative team to look at reforming the campus police department in the wake of last month's officer-involved fatal shooting.
Among the many things the team will take a close look at: Why did campus police have a dramatic uptick in citations given to black motorists and pedestrians this year?
"I was horrified," UC Chief Jason Goodrich said. "That number is not acceptable."
UC on Monday officially announced the hiring of respected Cincinnati Police Department veterans James Whalen as public safety director and Gregory Baker as head of police community relations.
They join new Vice President for Safety and Reform Robin Engel and Goodrich to help the department try to rebound after Officer Ray Tensing shot and killed Samuel DuBose during a traffic stop July 19.
Tensing was fired July 29, the same day a grand jury indicted him on a murder charge.
Goodrich spoke publicly for the first time since two days after the shooting, which has drawn attention worldwide. He has been UC's chief since November, and overseen the police department's big increase in traffic citations.
As The Enquirer previously reported, UC cops handed out 932 traffic citations through July of this year, more than in all of 2014 and three times as many as in 2012. Officers gave 62 percent of those tickets to black motorists and pedestrians, up from 43 percent in 2012.
"Obviously, the disparity in citations is problematic, and we want to look at that and get to the bottom of it," Goodrich said. "Currently, we don't have a good way to track (data)."
Goodrich previously also held the role of public safety director, but he has been stripped of that title. He has overseen the hire of several new officers, but was not at UC when Tensing joined the campus police in April 2014.
Goodrich made his comments during a press conference, and UC did not allow him to conduct individual media interviews.
"I had a very formidable job ... and after this incident, it seemed almost insurmountable," Goodrich said. "So when I went and said, 'I need some help, boss,' I've got it and this is a great team. We have a long way to go. We will build this agency together."
Here are three other takeaways from Monday:
UC is paying big bucks for all of this.
It remains unclear exactly how much UC is paying to try to reform its police department, but the university released the annual salaries for Whalen and Baker to The Enquirer late Monday afternoon.
Whalen, who is leaving his job as Cincinnati assistant chief, will make a base annual salary of $175,000.
UC will pay Baker, who is leaving his job as executive director of the city's Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence, a base salary of 119,000 per year.
Engel's new salary has not yet been released, because the university still is working out details in her transition from being a professor in the School of Criminal Justice.
All three are newly created positions. Goodrich also was making a six-figure salary – believed to be around $125,000 – but it's uncertain whether he is taking a pay cut. The Enquirer filed a public records request Aug. 3 seeking Goodrich's personnel file, but UC has not yet released it.
UC is now paying more than double than it was for the chief and public safety director roles. UC has 73 police officers.
By comparison, Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell – who oversees about 1,000 officers – earns a base annual salary of $135,000.
The university plans to spend more money on hiring a public relations firm to help with its image in the wake of the DuBose shooting. Consultants also are expected to be hired to help assist with the policy reform, Engel said.
Campus police will consider bringing back Tasers.
The university suspended the use the stun gun after 18-year-old student Everette Howard died in the wake of being Tased by campus police in 2011. Some believe UC was forced to ban the Taser as part of the settlement with Howard's family, but that is not the case.
"The settlement with the Howard family states that notice will be given to the public and to the Howard family before bringing Tasers back on line," said attorney Al Gerhardstein, who represented the Howard family.
The public has raised the question several times: What if Tensing had a Taser to use?
Engel and Whalen are believers in the use of Tasers. The Cincinnati police were early adopters of the Taser in 2004. Engel has conducted research on the Taser during her academic career.
In interviews after the press conference, Engel and Whalen said UC will consider bringing back Tasers.
"It's definitely something we're going to look at," Whalen said. "Tasers clearly have a role in reducing injuries and saving lives."
The university does not yet have a timetable for implementing policy changes.
Engel and Whalen want to move fast in their review of the department and on implementing policy changes. They're not sure yet how fast they'll be able to move.
"There's not going to be any, 'Well, maybe this time next year we'll be thinking about something,' " Whalen said. "This is going to be a train that's pulling out of the station. I look forward to being aggressive at being progressive."