Cincinnati officials are reviewing several policies and procedures related to policing in a re-commitment to the bias-free policing goals of the 2002 Collaborative Agreement.
Officials outlined the plans at a community meeting in Roselawn Thursday night, sponsored by the Cincinnati Black United Front. About a hundred people attended.
The meeting was advertised as a discussion about the Collaborative Agreement, a nearly 25-year-old settlement to a federal lawsuit that alleged racial bias in policing. It underwent a "refresh" in 2018.
It also comes after a recent report found Cincinnati police officers stopped Black residents at significantly disproportionate rates compared to white residents. The analysis from the police reform advocacy nonprofit, Campaign Zero, analyzed more than 15 years of police data.
City Manager Sheryl Long did not directly address that report in brief remarks at the start of Thursday's meeting.
"This administration does not duck and dive from difficult conversations," Long said. "We lean into them, we listen, we collaborate, and then we get to work creating sustainable foundational change. As city manager, it is my responsibility to work alongside this community and our dedicated public servants to ensure that meaningful change is not just discussed — it's delivered."
Long says adherence to the Collaborative Agreement is part of the department's performance metrics, something her administration added before the Campaign Zero report.
Interim Police Chief Adam Hennie says he's all-in on commitment to the agreement, while acknowledging he may not be in charge of the department long-term.
"I'm going to be held accountable to what that refresh says. I'm going to be held accountable to those recommendations. I will be reporting to the city manager [and] to our elected officials on where we are [and] what we are doing. If I fail in that, you're going to get another police chief, and I don't want that."
Iris Roley co-founded the Black United Front and was a key negotiator on the Collaborative Agreement. She now serves as a paid consultant for the city.
Roley says she's confident the current city administration is moving in the right direction on fair policing.
"There are a lot of things that have been happening behind the scenes," Roley said. "All of the work that's happening at not just Government Square, but all the transit sites and now throughout downtown Cincinnati to ensure that children are safe and that they're having the positive interactions [with] police, but also trying to figure out what the needs are."
Roley pushed for community members to step up and be part of the problem-solving process.
You can learn more about the Collaborative Agreement and the city's plan below; click to jump to a specific topic:
- What is the Collaborative Agreement?
- City response to racial disparities report
- Collaborative refresh conference
What is the Collaborative Agreement?
The Collaborative Agreement was originally a settlement to a federal lawsuit filed 25 years ago by the Black United Front and ACLU of Ohio.
The suit accused the department of racially biased policing. Separately, in the six years leading up to the lawsuit, Cincinnati police officers had killed more than a dozen Black men. In 2001, after the lawsuit was filed, Timothy Thomas became the 15th Black man killed, sparking months of civil unrest.
In the Collaborative Agreement settlement, the city committed to five goals, including to "ensure fair, equitable, and courteous treatment for all."
The Citizen Complaint Authority, an independent police oversight board, was created as part of the agreement.
The police department also started using contact cards because of the agreement. Those are brief forms officers are required to fill out after they initiate any stop of a person in the city, including traffic stops and pedestrian stops. They list a person’s age, race, gender, the location of the stop and other details.
The city has not been legally obligated to follow the agreement since 2008, but officials have consistently voiced continued commitment to its goals and to community problem-oriented policing, and has continued to use contact cards.
The city went through the "refresh" process that concluded in 2018. An independent report commissioned by the city recommended officials "routinely report to the public about progress toward bias-free policing, including the problem-solving efforts that have been applied."
Cincinnati publishes public dashboards that visualize a few years of contact card data at a time: one for traffic stops and one for pedestrian stops.
City response to racial disparities report
When the Campaign Zero report was first published, Long expressed frustration that the city wasn't engaged sooner, saying additional data and context could change the conclusions. She said she fully supports officers and leadership, but takes allegations of racial bias seriously.
On Thursday, Long outlined a few actions her administration is taking, including some previously reported by WVXU.
RFP for analysis of report
The city released a request for proposals on June 12 seeking a third-party analysis of its contact card data. That RFP closed June 22.
City spokesperson Mollie Lair declined to answer questions about how many submissions came in or how much the contract will cost.
"The RFP submissions are currently under review," Lair said in a statement. "We are not permitted to discuss more details until an award has been made."
The RFP indicated the city wants its chosen vendor to have preliminary findings by the end of August.
Addressing collaborative refresh recommendations
City staff report the refresh process from 2018 identified 52 action items; of those, they say 35 are complete or in progress. These include extensive expansion of police data analysis, improved record keeping, and work related to Community Problem Oriented Policing (CPOP).
Meeting attendees were encouraged to sign up for "action teams" with the city, to give input on topics like police technology, data analysis, and mental health. It's not yet clear when those action teams will meet for the first time.
You can see details about refresh recommendations that are complete or in progress below (article continues after):
Note: this document is four pages. The full document may not appear on mobile.
Contact card recommendations
In addition to the recommendations from the 2018 refresh, the city has identified new recommendations specifically related to contact cards.
Kait Bell, the city's violence reduction manager, says one area of consideration is when and how officers should be using contact cards, which are now fully digital.
"We're also working to require key fields for when officers fill out contact cards, including reducing the number of required sections for things that might not be as relevant today," Bell said.
The city is considering new required fields, like listing all officers present at the incident, indicating the reporting officer's beat assignment, and identifying which officer directed or initiated the contact.
You can see details about contact card recommendations below (article continues after):
Note: this document is three pages. The full document may not appear on mobile.
Collaborative refresh conference
Long announced a Collaborative Agreement Conference will be held Sept. 10-12, 2026.
"The city, in partnership with the Black United Front, is deeply committed to telling the story of how we got here, recognizing the progress we have made together, and honestly discussing the work that still lies ahead," Long said. "We hope you will join us for this important opportunity to reflect, learn, and continue moving forward together."
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