ACLU of Ohio and Community Leaders Name Members to Key Boards Set Up Through Landmark Settlement with Police

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CINCINNATI -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and community leaders here today announced the names of individuals who will serve on a Community Advisory Board and a Community Police Partnering Center Board that were formed through the settlement of a landmark racial profiling lawsuit.

"Working with these individuals and many more like them, the ACLU will ensure that the implementation of the settlement agreement proceeds in a vigorous manner," said Scott Greenwood, general counsel of the ACLU of Ohio and lead lawyer in the case. "Moreover, the ACLU will tap the work of the many established organizations that have agreed to serve as 'Friends of the Collaborative' including the Cincinnati branch of the NAACP, the Urban League and others." 

The 12 individuals named to the advisory board were chosen after extensive discussions among ACLU attorneys and community leaders. Members will represent a broad cross-section of the Cincinnati community and include business, civic, non-profit, and religious leaders, seasoned activists, a former institutional reform litigant, and young people.

The ACLU also named three members to the Community Police Partnering Center Board. The board will oversee and coordinate the implementation of a community problem oriented policing (CPOP) program required by the terms of the settlement. According to ACLU attorneys, this will involve members leading problem-solving groups meant to work with police to address crime from more than the traditional enforcement model.

The original lawsuit was filed by the ACLU of Ohio on behalf of Cincinnati Black United Front on behalf of the African American members of both groups, citing a 30-year pattern of racial profiling by police. Last April, the ACLU announced a settlement agreement in the case, calling it a national model for police-community relations. For more information about the settlement, go to /racialjustice/racialprofiling/15864prs20020409.html

For more information about the roles of the two community boards and its members, go to http://www.scottgreenwood.com