Cincinnati's independent police oversight board determined officers acted improperly in about 26% of allegations last year. The Citizen Complaint Authority's 2020 annual report includes 40 investigations involving more than 300 allegations.
"CCA clears an awful lot of police officers who are involved with our complaints, and you'll see the great majority of our findings were, in fact, in the exonerated and unfounded categories," CCA Director Gabe Davis said.
But, investigators determined officers acted improperly in about 26% of allegations last year, compared to an average of less than 15% in the three years prior.
Davis says the CCA slightly increased the number of completed investigations in 2020, and also recommended about 15 policy changes to the Cincinnati Police Department.
"Those recommendations addressed police policy and training, investigatory stops, searches and frisks, body-worn camera evidentiary access and use," Davis said. "They also dealt with things like the use of force review board and Taser policy."
Of the 265 people who submitted complaints to the CCA last year, about 57% are African American, an over-representation based on African Americans accounting for about 42% of the city population.
"We continue to analyze data and patterns, maintain a community engagement presence, and follow up on citizen complaints referred to the Cincinnati Police Department on behalf of complainants," Davis said.
The CCA has been working through a backlog of more than a hundred cases in addition to all new complaints.
Davis requested a budget increase for next fiscal year to hire more investigators; the first draft of the city budget does not include funding for that request. City Council will approve a final budget by the end of June.
Read the full report below:
CCA 2020 Annual Report by WVXU News on Scribd
