Kate Murphy

kmurphy@enquirer.com

An independent review of the University of Cincinnati Police Department released Tuesday afternoon recommended to UC leadership that officers resume carrying Tasers. The report included two dozen other recommendations "needed to transform the UCPD."

The review also suggested UCPD enhance its training, add policies to prevent bias and increase diversity, limit pedestrian and traffic stops and establish use of force and citizen complaint review processes.

The report also discloses, for the first time, that former UC police chief Jason Goodrich was asked to resign, calling his tactic of having officers make aggressive traffic stops to fight crime "a significant mistake."

The suggestion for UCPD officers to be armed with Tasers would reverse a department policy implemented while settling a lawsuit with the family of a UC student who died in 2011 after a UCPD officer tased him.

Everette Howard, 18, went into cardiac arrest and died after an officer responded to a report of fights outside a UC dormitory. The death of the North College Hill youth prompted the university to ban the use of Tasers. The officer involved was cleared of wrongdoing by the Hamilton County prosecutor.

The family of Howard, who died Aug. 11, 2011, received $2 million as part of a settlement with the university.

UC made the decision to take Tasers away from officers before the settlement was reached. But, the university agreed, at the Howards request, that before UCPD brings Tasers back they would consult the community.

Local lawyer Al Gerhardstein, who represented the Howard and DuBose families, said UC should send a notice to the family and the community beforehand.

"So that there could be a public dialogue about the processes and policy in which they would bring Tasers back," Gerhardstein told The Enquirer.

He said the university hasn't reached out yet, but it’s too early in the process to expect that. UC still has time to contact him and ask to get the Howards on the line, Gerhardstein said.

"We are very sensitive to the needs and concerns of our community," UC vice president of safety and reform Robin Engel said. "This is one of those recommendations we'll be looking for discussion with our community and community advisory council, the Board of Trustees and administration to really look at that and determine whether it makes sense for us moving forward."

Engel said Tasers are considered best practice in the field and “the evidence available is fairly clear that Tasers reduce injuries to both officers and citizens." However, the recommendation will be discussed with sensitivity considering UC's history of issues.

The family of Kelly Brinson, who died Jan. 20 2010 after being shocked with a Taser while restrained at the UC Medical Center, also reached a $638,000 settlement with UC.

At a public discussion of the Exiger conclusions Tuesday night, a question was asked about the Taser use proposal.

“This is a very serious topic given Cincinnati’s history and feelings towards Tasers," Exiger official Roberto Villasenor said. "But research, lots of research, shows that proper use will have a reduction in injuries for officers and citizens." He said use of force must always be taken seriously, and that Tasers represent "an in-between method that's been proven to reduce injuries."









The report comes nearly a year after former UC police officer Ray Tensing shot and killed unarmed motorist Samuel DuBose after an off-campus traffic stop.

Investigations after the July 19 shooting revealed a dramatic upsurge in off-campus traffic stops and arrests under the command of Goodrich.

UC hired Exiger and its team of national policing experts to conduct a six -month review of UCPD and its aggressive use of patrols that led to the fatal stop.

​“The report is comprehensive and set forth a road map for continuous improvement of the UC Police Department,” UC President Santa Ono said in a news release. “The university is fully committed to taking necessary steps to become a national model for campus safety.”

The final Exiger report states "many of the critical processes and functions of the department fell short of best practice," despite the "extremely dedicated and good-willed" personnel.

Exiger team leader, Jeff Schlanger, said the lack of supervision was apparent and UCPD experienced a "period of uncertainty in leadership."

He said the breakdown of the department was "a progression that occurred over a number of years" and came as a result of old policies and procedures that weren't up to date.

The report outlines five areas for improvement, including UCPD's mission, policies, training, oversight and diversity and inclusion.

Exiger's key recommendations for UCPD:

Adopt a mission statement that provides "for the safety and security of faculty, staff, students and visitors; promotes concepts of fairness, non-biased policing with minimal intrusion; and promotes service to the broad university community."

Update policies and procedures to reflect campus law enforcement best practices.

Do not use traffic and pedestrian stops as a "crime-fighting tool."

Implement policy, education and training on how to guard against biased policing.

Use a new "use of force" policy and establish a protocol for the timely review of every use of force to determine its appropriateness.

Expand alternatives that officers have to the use of deadly physical force by arming UCPD officers with Tasers and develop intensive training on using those devices.

Update hiring policy by requiring a diverse slate of candidates throughout the officer recruitment process.

Improve the complaint receipt and review process.

Those steps outlined in the report will not just sit on the shelf, according to Engel.

UC plans to hire an outside, independent monitor to oversee the expected changes to the department's practices. The monitor will report directly to the Board of Trustees and the Community Advisory Council, which was established as part of UC's reform effort.

"We need to make sure have systems in place for oversight," Engel said. "That is core to establishing legitimacy and rebuilding that trust with the community."

She acknowledged that the police department needs to better reflect the community that it serves and insisted leaders will "create a culture of UCPD that embraces diversity and uses the strengths of diversity to move the university forward."

With the new leadership in place, including new Police Chief Anthony Carter and Assistant Chief Maris Herold, Engel said this report provides the second critical piece for lasting change.

She said UCPD will not just meet the standards of the state of Ohio, but “will surpass those requirements and move us forward for best practices known in the industry.”

Engel also sent a message to parents who might question the safety of their students and what policing will look like on UC's campus in light of the report.

“The changes and policies and procedures and we plan for UCPD will not have a negative impact on our safety efforts," Engel said. "Crime in the areas surrounding campus has reached a 10-year low."

She said in the past six months there's been a more than 30 percent reduction in the number of crimes compared to same time last year.

Another Exiger finding was that UCPD “clearly and unequivocally indicates that UCPD officers may not use race, color, ethnicity or national origin in any extent or degree in conducting stops or detentions.”

UC Director of Public Safety James Whalen said at Tuesday night's presentation that officers are already being trained to follow the new non-biased procedure and expects a very short turnaround in implementing it.

Engel said she wants a “very systematic” approach to the expansive community complaint system that will be part of the reform.

“I’m a big fan of citizen oversight. We need the community to help and I’m happy to take suggestions on how we should implement this. But I want something that is standardized,” Engel said. Officers must also report one another’s misconduct when it’s part of complaints.

Community members asked in various questions what will be the ultimate accountability for the new policies at UCPD.

“You, the community, you’re the stick. You have to be more involved and hold us accountable,” Exiger managing director Jeff Schlanger said.

What Exiger's investigation previously uncovered

The review has already led to the resignation of Goodrich, raised questions of the off-campus policing tactics enforced by UCPD and suggested the chief was running his operation with little supervision and oversight.

UCPD created 'no-fly zone' DuBose drove through

Exiger's draft review led Goodrich, and his second in command, Timothy Thornton, to resign after the draft revealed “oversights and gaps in management,” as well as the top cop being "untruthful" about his tactics during the review.

The team's mid-review, which was released in April, found Goodrich used a "no-fly zone" strategy that promoted traffic stops as a method of crime control.

There were nearly five times as many traffic stops and citations in neighborhoods around UC than before he became chief that resulted in hundreds of arrests. Under that strategy, officers ticketed black drivers twice as often as white drivers. Goodrich attested his officers "might be profiling," according to the report.

Exiger also suggested that none of Goodrich's superiors were aware of the policing strategy. The report stated Goodrich's boss, vice president for administration and finance Robert Ambach, did not know UCPD officers were making off-campus traffic stops as a method of crime control.

What did UC know about UCPD's policing strategy?

Yet, Goodrich insisted "people" knew and told The Enquirer the outside investigation pinned the blame on him unfairly.

UC administrators haven't answered questions about how much they knew or should have known about the strategy.

Contributing: Amir Samarghandi

Other findings from the report