WCPO-TV chief meteorologist Steve Raleigh, who has been off the air for two months, “will soon return” to newscasts after he was cleared of any criminal charges in the June 22 minor traffic wreck in the Montgomery Inn Boathouse parking lot that escalated into an assault, says WCPO-TV Vice President Jeff Brogan.
“It has been determined that criminal charges are not warranted against Mr. Steve Raleigh, as there is no evidence that he violated any criminal law. Accordingly, as to Mr. Steve Raleigh, this investigation is closed,” said Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve in a media release Tuesday. Tekulve was appointed special prosecutor to investigate the case July 31.
Raleigh was pulled off the air July 14, several days after an online video went viral of his family allegedly involved in the June 22 altercation in the restaurant parking lot.
Cincinnati Police reported that Raleigh’s son, Carter, 28, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol when the vehicle he was driving struck a pickup truck. Carter Raleigh was driving a Cadillac Escalade owned by his grandfather, Simon Leis Jr., a former Hamilton County prosecutor, judge and sheriff. In a heavily redacted Cincinnati Police report, police said that Doug Morrow, 79, and his wife Lois, 76, of Covington, were transported to UC Medical Center by ambulance with injuries from the incident.
Brogan said Tuesday that “the official findings regarding Steve’s involvement announced today are consistent with what he told us about the incident from the beginning. Steve will soon return to WCPO 9 as our chief meteorologist.”
Raleigh said he “was notified of the special prosecutor's decision today. I appreciate the validation regarding my involvement,” he said in a statement released by WCPO-TV Tuesday.
“I want to thank family, friends, colleagues and viewers for their patience and support. I look forward to returning to work soon. I’ve missed serving the people of this great city. Because this is now going to the Hamilton County Grand Jury, I will refrain from commenting further at this time."
Tekulve’s investigation remains open for “others involved in this incident,” he said Tuesday.
“The Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office will present the evidence and information obtained during this investigation, as well as the applicable criminal law, to the Hamilton County Grand Jury for its consideration in the upcoming weeks. An update will be provided after the Grand Jury’s determination,” Tekulve said.
A viral video on Facebook in July showed an elderly man and woman on the ground, with the woman bleeding from her head, during a shouting match involving Steve Raleigh.
The police reports state that the “suspect approached Victim #1 striking him with a closed fist in the head knocking him to the ground causing listed injuries. Victim #2 and Victim #3 while attempting to aid Victim #1 was struck and shoved to the ground by the suspect causing listed injuries.”
At a July 15 press conference, Doug Morrow said “all hell broke loose” after he refused to move his pickup truck until police arrived, according to the Enquirer.
When the police report was released July 12, WCPO-TV’s Brogan said he would ”continue to monitor official findings.” He also said that Raleigh had “shared his side of the incident with our leadership” and that “his account is consistent with the police report, which does not name him, and with what we have reviewed on video.”
In announcing that Raleigh soon would resume weather duties, Brogan said that “our responsibility as Steve’s employer was to wait for the investigators’ final determination of his role in the incident. Our responsibility as a news organization has been and will be to report on the incident with fair and impartial coverage. We remain committed to that.”
