The Village of Evendale Wednesday released the results of an investigation into its response to a Feb. 7 neo-Nazi rally on a highway overpass at its border with historically Black Lincoln Heights.
Evendale received criticism for its response to the rally, especially from residents in Lincoln Heights who felt officers didn't do enough to hold members of the hate group accountable.
The report by national policing consultancy 21 CP Solutions found that Evendale officers didn't violate internal policies or laws in their approach to the hate group, and that they navigated a difficult tension between free speech rights and dangerous rhetoric with "excellent de-escalation skills." The report also pointed out several things the department could do better and recommended the Hamilton County Prosecutor investigate conduct by the neo-Nazis to see if any charges are warranted related to the rally.
But questions linger among some Lincoln Heights residents who call the new report incomplete.
Evendale officials say they're committed to improving the village's relationship with Lincoln Heights and to making changes recommended in the report.
"This isn't the end of a terrible situation," Evendale Mayor Richard Finan said. "This is the beginning of a rebuilding process that will take place between us and the Village of Lincoln Heights."
Residents respond
Lincoln Heights Mayor Ruby Kinsey-Mumphrey issued a statement following the Evendale news conference. She called the neo-Nazi rally "unbelievably threatening" and agreed with Evendale's assessments that better communication is needed between the municipalities. Kinsey-Mumphrey wrote more work is necessary.
"I understand that this report only looked at policies and procedures," the statement reads. "But what African Americans like me will never understand is why the Nazis were treated with a level of respect and familiarity rarely shown to our community. Why were the Nazis not asked to identify themselves, when the first thing an African American must do in a traffic stop is provide identification? Why were the Nazis not asked to remove their masks? Why is the Hamilton County Sherrif and Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office waiting to investigate the Nazi rally until after Evendale issued its report? Does that mean we have to wait another six months to hear from the County?"
A handful of Lincoln Heights residents showed up at the news conference unveiling the report.
They questioned why none of the hate group members were identified or charged with crimes; why an Evendale officer escorted the neo-Nazis away from the scene; and why it took the village multiple days to issue information about its response.
Evendale has acknowledged it made a mistake on that last point. Councilmember Chris Patterson said the village waited too long trying to get all of the facts before condemning the hate group.
"If we could go back as a village and change one thing, it would be our ability in that moment, 24 or 48 hours later, to say 'we stand against hate, we stand against Nazis, we stand with Lincoln Heights," Patterson said. "We are profoundly sorry that 10 days caused as much angst as it did."
Syretha Brown was one of the Lincoln Heights residents who came to the news conference. Evendale officers directed her to leave as she pushed for answers to those questions. She spoke to reporters outside afterward, saying she and many of her neighbors don't feel safe in the communities around Lincoln Heights now.
Among her questions: whether there was any discipline for the Evendale officer who led the U-Haul transporting the neo-Nazis to a school in Lockland after the rally. The 21 CP report calls that action "a mistake."
"Does he have to say, 'I'm sorry, I made a bad judgment'?" Brown asked. "That would probably go a long way, right?"
Others wanted to know why there hadn't been more efforts to address the trauma caused by the rally.
Carlton Collins grew up in Lincoln Heights. He's a member of advocacy group The Heights Movement.
Collins says he still has a lot of questions — like why the state of Ohio isn't investigating the response and why an Evendale officer let one of the neo-Nazis ride in his cruiser without patting him down or asking for ID. Collins also wants more conversation between communities about what happened.
"There are children in Lincoln Heights who got in trouble for truancy because they didn't want to go to the bus stop because they were afraid," he said. "And we haven't addressed it."
What the report recommends
21 CP's report makes eight suggestions for reforms Evendale and other local entities should undertake to better respond to future incidents:
- "All Evendale police officers should undergo available Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) training in protest management and crowd control.
- "All Evendale police officers should undergo available OPOTA training as well as available specialized training in the constitutional issues police officers face in performing their duty.
- "The Evendale Police Department should draft and enforce a policy requiring members to be trained and tested on new equipment before it is permitted for use in the field.
- "The Evendale Police Department should amend its Body Worn Camera policy to forbid any item from being placed as an obstruction to the BWC’s view while recording is taking place. In this instance, a seatbelt obscured potentially important portions of the events that occurred.
- "The Evendale Police Department should initiate a practice, governed by policy, of routine training refreshers on both agency policy as well as other key law enforcement topics, to ensure its members remain up-to-date and aware of critical issues that may arise.
- "The Evendale Police Department should draft and enforce a policy requiring officers to notify neighboring jurisdictions any time an Evendale officer will take action or attend to an official law enforcement matter in a jurisdiction outside the Village of Evendale.
- "The Hamilton County Emergency Communications Center, in concert with the Hamilton County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, should consider developing and implementing a notification protocol for all schools in Hamilton County to be made aware of dangerous situations occurring that may present elevated risks for school
populations. - "The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office should review all conduct by the demonstrators while they were in Hamilton County. Their conduct caused great upset as well as discord amongst and between communities. The rule of law must prevail, and persons who engage in outrageous but lawful behavior are protected from governmental action or retaliation. Conversely, persons that engage in outrageous behavior that causes the risks and chaos that ensured on February 7, 2025, deserve to have their actions reviewed and they deserve to be held accountable under the law if any violations are noted."
Evendale Council Member Carolyn Smiley-Robertson says the village is committed to instituting the changes.
"We've started working on these recommendations and we will be following them closely, and posting what we do and how we do it," she said.
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